Starbucks is adding joy to wintry London and Manchester with special build billboards by Anomaly, enhancing the brand’s global holiday theme, Drawn Together, that celebrates festive season connection. The designs feature hand-drawn illustrations by Geoff McFetridge of The Directors Bureau.
The new OOH builds capture familiar seasonal moments, from placing the star on the tree to untangling Christmas lights. Each build is finished with real Christmas lights that bring the illustrated scenes to life with a warm, festive glow on winter evenings. The fun artwork reminds passers-by that warmth often comes from simple, everyday connections. The work was produced in partnership with OOH production agency, Grand Visual, and production partner, Global Street Art, and the special builds are now live at high-footfall sites including Jamestown Road in London and The Hare & Hounds in Manchester, bringing festive cheer to both cities.
The OOH extends Anomaly’s holiday campaign for Starbucks that began in November with a 60-second film:
True to the brand’s roots, the spot presents the simple joy of drawing with Sharpies, a feature of Starbucks service. The animated story follows two handcrafted baristas who dance across Starbucks Holiday Red Cups as they, along with their coffee drinkers, find their way back to one another. The artwork captures small moments of holiday connection, setting each scene in a timeless, festive world that feels unmistakably Starbucks.
“The holidays can be full-on, so we wanted to make something that breathes within the madness. We started with a Sharpie on a cup…the everyday handwriting of Starbucks, that humble line that writes your name also sketches our world,” stated Clara Mulligan, chief design officer and managing partner at Anomaly London. “Geoff’s Sharpie drawings have instant humanity, and it felt unmistakably Starbucks from the first sketch. His simple drawings, made by hand, telling a small story about people finding their way back to each other, and done with a lot of care.”
The track I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers plays through the ad, celebrating the power of human connection and the feeling that being together is the best place to be during the holiday season. The holiday ad has rolled out across UK and US channels, as well as local adaptations on digital and social channels in Türkiye, Portugal, Spain, Azerbaijan and France.
“Drawn Together is all about those small, thoughtful gestures – a handcrafted coffee, a festive doodle on a red cup – that can spark meaningful connections,” stated Esther van Onselen, VP brand and customer experience, Starbucks EMEA. “This campaign brings our Back to Starbucks strategy to life by celebrating what makes us iconic: our craft, our people, and the moments of connection that happen every day in our coffeehouses”.
