First came the 26% rise in value share. Then came a Christmas ad with 11 baby animals.

Grey London was given £1m to play with for McVitie’s first Christmas ad in 30 years. It’s the star on the top of a £12 million campaign, Sweeet, that began in February to bring the brand up to date and back into pantries. That investment has resulted in a monumental year for McVitie’s, which saw its value share of the total biscuit market rise to 26% in September 2014 – more than three times the size of its nearest competitor.

So Grey went all out on cuteness for Chrissy. It cast not one but eleven baby animals to compete with the sugar overload that Christmas advertising presents to audiences…

…Waitrose’s,  John Lewis’ and Marks & Spencer’s, for example.

Grey gave audiences an Alaskan Malamute puppy, a micro piglet, a Persian kitten, a baby rabbit, a duckling, a ginger kitten, a Pug puppy, a baby hedgehog, a baby reindeer…

and a narwhal hiding in the Christmas punchbowl. As each animal appears in the ad, it joins in a Christmassy rendition of Yazoo’s classic 80s hit, Only You.

The idea is to reflect the feeling that opening a box of McVitie’s Victoria (selection) triggers. So this is an advertising classic: biscuits equal warm feelings, togetherness and family sharing. McVitie’s owner, United Biscuits – the UK’s number one biscuit baker – sold over three million units of Victoria in 2013, making it the nation’s favourite sweet biscuit assortment, according to Nielsen.

Creative Credits: 


Creative agency: Grey London

Creative director: Hollie Newton

Copywriter: Hollie Newton

Art director: Hollie Newton

Production company: Smuggler

Director: Randy Krallman

Post production: Framestore

Audio post production: Wave