If Grey London’s gory Christmassacre commercial wasn’t enough to make the world, stop, look and listen to its message about animal cruelty, the partners have leant into the famous ugly Christmas jumper tradition with a jumper of their own, launched on National Christmas Jumper Day in the UK, to expose the ugly truth of the festive season.
Behind the campaign is UK Government DEFRA data revealing that that in December alone, over 84 million poultry, 865,000 pigs and 212,000 cattle are killed in the UK.
Each of the three limited-edition jumpers depict the brutal reality faced by cows, pigs and turkeys over the festive season. The superficially cheerful holiday knits are graphic subversions of traditional holiday imagery when you look more closely, with blood spatter and slaughter scenes replacing snowflakes and reindeers. In addition, stitched into each jumper’s label is a recipe for a delicious festive nut roast as a substitute for meat-eating traditions.
The jumpers were illustrated by Rave Growl and will be worn by a line-up of vegan and vegetarian celebrities across social media and press appearances, including David Walliams, Bimini Bon Boulash, Romesh Ranganathan, Jon Richardson, Sadie Frost and Lou Sanders.
A limited run of 50 jumpers will be available to buy through PETA’s website, with all proceeds supporting the charity’s mission to promote the ethical treatment of animals.
A short film has been released across social platforms to extend the campaign. The knitted style AI animation takes viewers into the hidden world of the slaughterhouse, reimagining the act of slaughter through handcrafted textures and surreal festive visuals:
The campaign builds on the happy Christmassacre film released in November in digital and cinemas in the UK as well OOH:
Helen Rhodes, chief creative officer, Grey London, commented, “Every year we compete to wear the ugliest Christmas jumper – but nothing is uglier than the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals. That’s why we’ve created the world’s ugliest Christmas jumpers to spotlight the pain and suffering behind our festive dinner plates. We tried many design routes but landed on a visual double take – from afar, a classic Christmas scene; up close, something much darker. Look closely and you’ll spot countless details, from candy-cane meat hooks to snowflake-shaped rotating saws. Huge thanks to our incredible illustration partners, Rave Growl, whose craft and care helped bring this labour of love to life.”
Elisa Allen, vice president of programs, PETA, added, “These jumpers are more than cosy knits, they’re truthbombs that force people to face the horror of celebrating the season of ‘peace and goodwill’ with the butchered bodies of cows, pigs and turkeys as the centrepiece. Wearing one of these jumpers is an act of activism — a call to choose compassion over carnage this Christmas.”
Credits
Creative Agency: Grey London
Group Creative Directors: Sam Haynes & John Gibson
Creatives: Max Simmance & Ali Munro
Head of Creative Operations: James McNichol
Head of Production: Maxine Hose
Producer: Lizzie Mabbot
Junior Producer: Alicia Cordell
Chief Creative Officer: Helen Rhodes
Chief Strategic Officer: Tarek Sioufi
Managing Director: Jonny Tennant-Price
Group Business Director: Tamsine Foggin
Account Director: Hugo Soer
Junior Strategist: Serena Coyle
Design Directors: George Goldsack & Sarah Burns
Nigel Miller – Senior Artworker
Photographer: Matt Bramston
Prop Stylist & Set Designer: Theo Neilson
Illustration: Rave Growl @ B&A Reps
