Publicis.Poke introduces ‘Farmer Christmas’ for Morrisons

The festive work sees two young friends discovering the existence of the season's ‘other’ hero

By Creative Salon

15 November 2021

Morrisons has launched its Christmas spot, paying tribute to the helpers and heroes who make Christmas happen.

The 60 second TV ad by Publics.Poke centres around two friends as they spy on Christmas’ other protagonist, ‘Farmer Christmas’.

The ad tells the tale of Farmer Christmas, a man who works “all year too” in order to deliver a delicious Christmas feast to tables all over the country.

The spot follows the friends as they explore North Pole Farm, where the festive food is grown, before spotting Farmer Christmas’ version of a sleigh and the ‘reindeers’ he needs to transport everything.

They then sneak a look into his workshops where ‘magic helpers’ including butchers, bakers, fishmongers and florists are helping to prepare delicious treats. At the end of their journey, the friends excitedly declare that “he’s been” as they spot a table full of food and sit down to enjoy the Christmas meal with their family and share their new secret.

As British farming’s single biggest customer, Morrisons has chosen to hero farmers in its ad as a way of thanking them for all the work they do to help make Christmas so special. It is also shining the spotlight on Morrisons colleagues – many of whom feature in the spot – and showcasing the food makers in its stores and manufacturing sites who enable the supermarket to make more than half the fresh food it sells.

The Christmas ad is part of Morrisons’ ongoing support for British farmers, with other recent activity including the reduction of seasonal pork prices to help alleviate the pressures faced by pig farmers. The supermarket also remains committed to only selling 100% fresh British meat and using British flour in its bakeries. Since the start of the pandemic, Morrisons has also offered its farmers a 5 per cent discount to shop at its stores.

As part of the Christmas campaign and to help tackle loneliness within communities, Morrisons is also giving away over a quarter of a million free Christmas cards for children based on the advert to spread messages of hope during the festive season. Its Community Champions will be working in partnership with local groups and primary schools to deliver the cards for children to write messages on and colour in. The children can post their cards to grandparents, neighbours and friends who they may not have seen recently due to the pandemic, or give them back to Morrisons to distribute to care homes or self-isolating customers using its Doorstep Delivery service.

Rachel Eyre, Morrisons' chief customer & marketing officer, said: “Told through the eyes of children, our advert reveals the ‘secret’ of the other star of Christmas – not Father Christmas but Farmer Christmas. It aims to celebrate and showcase all the hard work, skill and dedication that goes on behind the scenes to grow and make the food for Christmas throughout the year. From all the British farmers and growers we work with directly, to our 105,000 colleagues who are delivering, stocking, making and preparing fresh festive food, to bring our customers a Christmas feast for their table.”

Dave Monk, Publicis.Poke executive creative director, added: “Christmas is magical, but it doesn’t just happen by magic, and in a year where the whole nation fell in love with the huge efforts British Farmers make every day bringing food to our tables, it seemed the perfect moment to celebrate our heroes of field and farm. With Farmer Christmas at the helm, this ad pays tribute to everyone who makes Christmas happen, from the food makers in Morrisons stores to every Christmas kitchen hero up and down Britain making sure that the presents on your table are just as special as the ones under the tree.”

The ad was directed by Nick Gordon of Somesuch and premieres on TV today in ITVs This Morning followed by spots in The Great British Bake Off and Coronation Street on Tuesday night. The wider campaign will run across social media, radio, digital and include in-store activations, as well as posters featuring Morrisons' counter colleagues as Farmer Christmas’ magic helpers.

It continues to highlight the importance of valuing where food comes from and forms part of Morrisons’ Make Good Things Happen brand platform. The Christmas ad builds on from the ‘It’s Good to Grow’ initiative, which educates children on everything from farming to healthy eating habits and the ’Make Good Things Happen’ ad in the summer.

Children and their families will be able to send their ‘letters’ or Christmas food wish lists to Farmer Christmas by tweeting @Morrisons on Wednesday 17th November. The five most retweeted letters will win Morrisons vouchers worth £250 to spend on their own Christmas dinner.

CREDITS

CAMPAIGN TITLE: Farmer Christmas

CLIENT: Morrisons

ADVERTISING AGENCY: Publicis•Poke

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Dave Monk

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nick Allsop

CREATIVE: Hector Dudding

CREATIVE: Ollie Quinn

DESIGNER: Roxana Iriciuc

PLANNER: Diego Chicharro

BUSINESS LEAD: Morgan Lafferty

ACCOUNT TEAM: Robert Scobie, Joanne Atkins, Eleni Masoura, James McGrath