A still from Boots Christmas ad. Two glittering Christmas trees in the background.

Boots gives Mrs Claus a dazzling touch of Bridgerton

Bridgerton legend Adjoa Andoh kits out the nation with extravagant and beauty-focused Christmas gifts in the retailer's latest campaign, created with The Pharm

By Creative Salon

06 November 2024

Boots releases its 2024 festive marketing campaign, “The Christmas Makeover”, unleashing the magic of beauty with actor and Bridgerton star, Adjoa Andoh as Mrs. Claus in a wonderland of Boots beauty.

The film follows Adjoa as she leads her trusty squad of beauty elves in her Christmas “Werkshop”, reminding viewers that Boots has a present for every kind of beauty enthusiast.

Boots give Mrs. Claus the fame she deserves as Adjoa shows off a ‘werkshop’ unlike anything you’ve seen before, with an epic outfit change and a swipe of No7 lipstick, she captivates viewers as the driving force behind festive gifting preparations. Viewers watch as she takes charge whilst Santa Claus sleeps, helping to fulfil every Christmas wish list with exciting and unexpected beauty gifts from Boots, sure to wow both gift-givers and recipients alike.

Full of iconic and highly coveted gifts, we see Mrs Claus and her team of beauty elves preparing the hottest beauty gifts in her “werkshop”, including viral brands such as Bubble Skincare, e.l.f, Sol de Janerio, and Laneige. The wide range of gifts are also represented in the different beauty elves looks, from ‘vamp’ and glam to every style in-between, showing there’s a beauty gift for everyone. The advert culminates with Mrs. Claus triumphantly satisfied with her work, commenting “You thought it was all him?” adding a playful end to the film, giving a nod to those powerhouses who make Christmas magical.

Chosen for her charisma, confidence and gravitas, Adjoa stars in her first Christmas advert as she aligns with Mrs. Claus’ qualities and alludes the strong and classy persona, in a cool and beautiful way. Alongside Adjoa Andoh, the film also features two renowned beauty social media influencers, who work with Boots on an ongoing basis, @soph and @snatchedbywill, both helping Mrs. Claus by testing all the amazing Boots beauty products as her trusty ‘elf-fluencers’.

Speaking about her experience filming the campaign Adjoa Andoh, actor, said: “How beauty can make you feel and how it shapes your identity is very important to me, so when Boots asked me to be a part of their festive campaign and play the vital and often under-valued role of Mrs. Claus, I was thrilled. The creative brilliantly shows how beauty can help us feel empowered and fabulous. It can lift your spirits in minutes. I like to keep things simple, but quality is important to me, and Boots can offer that to every shopper at every budget.”

Pete Markey, Chief Marketing Officer at Boots said: “As the UK’s favourite beauty retailer 1 , we are on a mission to spread magic and excitement to beauty enthusiasts this Christmas, whilst also recognising the unsung powerhouses who make Christmas so special. This advert is the perfect culmination of both, and I cannot wait to see the reaction and help gift-givers find the perfect gift this Christmas.

“In the past 12 months – our 175th anniversary year - we have expanded our beauty offering even further by launching another 55 new beauty brands, including some of the biggest names in beauty such as Prada Beauty, Made by Mitchell and Supergoop! With 1,300 gifts to choose from and over 160 of the hottest trending brands, we want to wow you and your loved ones this Christmas.”

Directed by award-winning production company, Radical, and award-winning LA Director, Dave Meyers, and set to the soundtrack: ‘Who’s That Girl’ by Eve, the advert will air for the first time at 8am on Wednesday 6th November on Boots social media channels, and then at 9.30pm during ‘Until I Kill You’, ITV1. Following this, the fully integrated campaign will run for seven weeks across TV, radio, cinema, print, social, and online.

For the first time, the retailer will directly target men as a growth audience through a new and targeted media approach in particular in the last minute lead up to Christmas across podcasts, social, YouTube and creator content. The retailer has put innovation at the centre of the launch strategy, with 65% of its media strategy featuring new tactics to bring the campaign to life. Within this new approach, 50% of all media spend will be using first party data and 91% of the Boots target audience will be reached across the AV landscape.

Supporting the new and innovative media spend, the campaign will also be activated on Reddit and Pinterest as Boots test new media formats as well as securing a Snapchat takeover to ensure they are unmissable across Black Friday weekend.

Boots will also ‘own Christmas on YouTube’ with a Moment Sponsorship and YouTube partnership, a new approach for Boots as the film will appear as the first advert within specially curated festive playlists, delivering joy throughout the season. The campaign will also tap into new formats in print, such as gift guide takeovers to make sure Boots is unmissable this Christmas and ensure Boots beauty is on every shopper's radar.

Boots will enter the world of gaming for the first time with Activision, with a bespoke Boots Christmas-themed game that will appear within Candy Crush, Bubble Witch Saga and Farm Hero Saga games. Influencer activity also makes up a key part of this year’s campaign, with more above- the-line creator-led content than ever before, increasing engagement online and across social media in new and exciting ways.

The Boots Christmas campaign was developed in partnership with VML/The Pharm, the WPP partnership team dedicated to WBA.

Ryan McManus, Chief Creative Officer, VML UK said: “The Boots festive campaign celebrates Mrs. Claus, finally giving her the recognition she deserves and acknowledging all the magic makers across the country who consistently go the extra mile at Christmas. It’s a connected campaign that celebrates beauty, and brings to life a whole new take on Christmas, with crafted worlds, social Elfluencers, shoppable beauty looks and more.”

Credits

Boots

Chief Marketing Officer: Pete Markey

Director of Marketing & Brand: Emma Locker

Head of Marketing: Rebecca Vittles

Marketing Manager: Cara McNaughton

The Pharm

Chief Creative Officer: Ryan McManus

Creative Partner: Sarah Bamford

Executive Creative Director: Mara Vidal

Senior Art Director: Lucy Harrison

Senior Copywriter: Emma Gallagher