Waitrose Transforms IMAX Into The Perfect Pie

The OOH work celebrates the retailer's romcom inspired Christmas ad

By Creative Salon

20 November 2025

The BFI IMAX has been turned into the….PIEMAX, as part of Waitrose’s Christmas campaign. The activation from Wonderhood Studios and MG OMD, pays homage to the grocer’s recent Christmas short film The Perfect Gift, in which Joe Wilkinson (as ‘Phil’) cooks up the ultimate romantic gesture - a lovingly made Turkey Pie, to win the heart of none other than Keira Knightley.

The media planning for this campaign leans heavily into film launch tactics throughout - by turning one of London’s most famous film landmarks into part of the story itself, MG OMD have extended the campaign's cinematic world beyond the screen. A site normally wrapped in superheroes and space sagas is, for two weeks, honouring the humble homemade pie - a bold media moment that brought Waitrose’s food-as-entertainment strategy to life.

The creative execution shows the home made pie, captured in camera, and blown up onto the 1,734m2 IMAX walls, engraved with “The Perfect Gift”, the title of the romcom on one side. The other is decorated with the message “Love at first bite”, in handmade pastry letters. The giant pie continues to invite the nation to 'say it with food', as for food lovers, food isn't a given, it's the greatest gift of all.

Taking inspiration from Phil’s humble homemade pie, food lovers will be able to get their hands on Waitrose No.1 Festive Turkey Pie - baked with care, to serve with love this Christmas.

Nathan Ansell, Waitrose Chief Customer Officer, said: “Every good romcom deserves a big movie-moment launch, and what’s bigger than taking over one of London’s most famous cinemas? The PIEMAX is a deliciously fun way of bringing our Christmas story into the real world. We absolutely love it.”

Flora Williams, Head of Planning at MG OMD led on the ideation, strategy and media activation and Wonderhood’s senior creative team Jennifer Ashton and OIiver Short created the PIEMAX, bringing the idea to life.

MG OMD's Head of Planning, Flora Williams, said of the idea: “From the moment we saw the script, we knew we needed a media moment big enough to match the cinematic ambition of the ad. The PIE-MAX did just that, transforming an iconic OOH site into a playful celebration of festive food and film. By supporting this with dynamic CGI builds amplified across social, we made sure this moment’s reach extends far beyond the placement - driving visibility, conversation and festive impact at scale.”

Audiences can jump on board and tell someone they love them through their cooking, by following the Turkey pie recipe on the Waitrose website.