Wieden + Kennedy London & Sainsbury’s: Who wouldn’t love singing Christmas joy to a bouncing brussel sprout?

Sainsbury’s Christmas ad this year is no high budget, high production values, animated epic. That would be expected.

And you couldn’t have expected that from Wieden + Kennedy.

Besides, Wieden + Kennedy London reinvented Sainsbury’s personality – and purpose – at the beginning of the year and Christmas would have to be the ideal time to make the most of its full-of-joy Living Well platform.

So it’s a karaoke ad. A sing-along music video that features a cast of 200 real Sainsbury’s customers and real employees, shot in London, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow.

The ad, which was directed by the Iconoclast duo, We Are From L.A., who also directed Pharrell’s Happy music video, uses the same black + white photography with splashes of colourful graphics that W+K established in January. The “bouncing ball” above the lyrics is a green Brussel sprout.

The song, Every Bit of Christmas, was composed by British rapper and comedian, Doc Brown (aka, Ben Smith). Its singers are everyday people and Sainsbury’s employees, chosen from the audition tapes they sent in response to a street-casting. The rapping child, singing dog and celebrities, Kermit the frog and actor Ricky Tomlinson from The Royle Family, were hand-picked.

The ad launched in the UK during the X Factor on November 12. 25 different versions of the ad will air over the holiday period. The campaign will also run on Sainsbury’s social channels – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

Credits:

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy London
Executive Creative Directors: Tony Davidson & Iain Tait
Creative Directors: Sophie Bodoh & Scott Dungate
Creatives: Mico Toledo & Juan Sevilla

Group Account Director: Aaron Cole
Account Director: Frankie Purvis
Account Manager: Lauren Ivory
Planning Director: Tom Lloyd
Planner: Nick Exford
Executive TV Producer: Matthew Ellingham
TV Producer: Tom Dean
Project Director: Mark D’Abreo
Creative Producers: Emily Khoury & Rashel Tashchian
Creative Production Assistant: Aran Patterson
Design Director: Karen Jane
Designers: Adam Hunt, Phil Rosieur & Steph McArdle
Motion/Animation Designer: Jon Harris
Studio Artworker: Jhy Turley

Production Company: Iconoclast
Directors: We Are From LA
Executive Producer: Carine Harris
Line Producer: Tom Knight
DoP: Jackson Hunt

Editing: Thomas Grove Carter @ Trim

VFX Company: Time Based Arts
VFX Executive Producer: Tom Johnson
Grade: Simone Grattarola
Flame Lead: Mike Aveling
Flame: Alastair Ford & Jamie Crofts
Animation Lead: Jess Gorick
Animation: Alex Dobbin & Dave Baum
Food Directing: Dan Lowe & Jess Gorick

Music Company: Leland Music
Song Writers: Mikis Michaelides & Ben “Doc Brown” Smith
Mix Company: Factory Studios
Sound Design & Mix: Anthony Moore