Marco Pierre White tries to eff and Jeff his way through Mother’s latest Stella campaign

With Christmas cheer on the horizon, a new campaign for Stella Artois by Mother London takes umbrage with reports of increased rudeness towards hospitality staff.

‘Stella Please’, fronted by Marco Pierre White, highlights the fact that manners cost not a thing, and sees the chef interspersing the spot with attempted curse words to highlight the fact.

The work is informed by research conducted by the beer company and YouGov that revealed 41 per cent of those surveyed are concerned that customers will be ruder this festive season, and that 40 per cent have reported that rude behaviour amongst customers has got worse since lockdown measures lifted earlier this year.

To help tackle the findings and encourage respectful behaviour in restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs across the country, Stella Artois is working with charity Hospitality Action and enlisted the help the famously abrupt White. 

In the spot, White reveals that this December, while manners don’t cost a thing they can in fact can save you money as a selection of pubs across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Newport cam receive £1 off their pint by saying “Can I have a Stella, please” when placing their order. For each pint ordered, a donation by Stella Artois will also be made to Hospitality Action to support hospitality workers during their busiest season in years.

Tim Ovadia, global vice president, Stella Artois, said: “Christmas can be a difficult time of year for hospitality workers, even more so this year with many preparing for an unpredictable, yet their busiest festive season in years.

“We wanted to raise awareness on the pressure  the hospitality workers may face this season and our research shows how small acts of kindness from the public really can go a long way for them. This is an industry that is very dear to us and our Stella Please campaign further builds on the initiatives we have run over the past year to best support hospitality staff whatever the challenges being faced.”

Marco Pierre White added: “Over the years I have witnessed my team be on the receiving end of rude and unnecessary behaviour from customers. And today, in the lead up to a very busy Christmas period, I would like to proudly stand alongside the hospitality industry and do my bit and say ‘please be polite’. Wishing everyone a happy Christmas.”

UK based charity, Hospitality Action, has been helping hospitality staff get back on their feet after a tough 18 months. Mark Lewis, chief executive of Hospitality Action commented: “Verbal abuse towards hospitality staff is a serious issue and as research indicates, things have unfortunately intensified since the end of lockdown.”

“We praise the efforts of Stella Artois and Marco in helping spread awareness of this important issue and getting the nation to show kindness to the hospitality industry during this busy time of year for them. Hospitality staff will bend over backwards to ensure you enjoy the festive season, so please show them some kindness in return.”

The 'Stella Please' campaign is the latest initiative from Stella Artois to support the hospitality industry and workers as they continue to get back to work post the end of lockdown. Earlier in the year, the brewer also launched Stella Tips when pubs re-opened nationwide giving out £500,000 in tips to hospitality staff in UK pubs - with staff offered £1 for each pint of Stella they pulled.