Waitrose has come a bit late to the Christmas crowd but is making up for it with a commercial by adam&eveDDB and Smuggler director, Henry-Alex Rubin, that stands out. The 60-second spot shows the time and effort that Waitrose Partners, farmers, growers, producers and artisan suppliers put into all the Christmas products all year round, and the spot is underscored by the Bing Crosby classic, It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, which triggers that wonderful Christmas anticipation (which, after all, is one of the best parts of the season, if not the best part). The commercial is then wrapped with the tagline, It’s the care we put in that makes Christmas this special.

The commercial’s cast is made up of real-life Waitrose partners and suppliers. Only the family ad the end are actors. It shows their preparations across the whole year from January 1, including challenges – smashing through an iced over pig drinking trough – brrr!!; Brussels sprout picking in torrential rain; apple picking in high winds at Waitrose’s Leckford Estate farm. 

Emma Isaac, head of marketing at Waitrose, commented, “Christmas is a very special period, and we don’t often talk about the time and effort our Waitrose Partners and our many farmers, growers and producers spend making the day magical for our customers. This year we wanted to do something different from the norm that’s inspired by our Partnership Purpose and builds on why Waitrose food is Food To Feel Good About. So, we decided the care, hard work and dedication of our suppliers and Partners deserved the spotlight in this year’s campaign because at the end of the day we couldn’t do Christmas without them.” 

The commercial was shown to Waitrose Partners before it went to air on UK television on Tuesday, November 15 during the final of The Great British Bake Off. It will also run on VOD platforms, cinema, BVOD, YouTube and online video all planned by MG OMD. 

Matt Gay, creative director at adam&eveDDB, stated, “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out at Christmas, making it tempting to create epic narratives with heaving tables of food. But we just didn’t feel that was the right approach, considering the social climate. So when we saw a script that had a unique take on Christmas, it felt like a refreshing way to go.” 

Credits:

Client: Waitrose & Partners
Head of Marketing: Emma Isaac
Advertising Team: Joanne Massey, Misha Desai & Nicole Gibson-Linnett

Agency: adam&EveDDB
Creative: Christian Sewell
Chief Creative Officer: Richard Brim
Creative Directosr: Matt Gay & Feargal Ballance
Creative: Andy McAnaney
Agency Producer: Sally Patterson

Chief Executive Officer: Tammy Einav
Managing Partner: Mike Stern
Business Director: Loella Collier
Account Director: Scarlett Aldridge
Account Managers: Beth Brigden & Jono Shaw
Planners: Hugh De Winton, Shuhan Lee​ & Alice Wagner

Production Company : Smuggler
Director: Henry-Alex Rubin
Director of Photography: ​Kaspar Tuxen
Producer: Ray Leakey
Managing Director: Lucy Kelly
Production Manager: Mike Carr
Production Designer: Agnieszka Debska
Wardrobe: Poppy Bell
Casting: ​Annabel Kennedy

Post Production & VFX: Untold
Editor: Scot Crane
Music & Sound: Factory
Music Supervisor: Theodore Music

Media: MG OMD