The tree is lit and the hosts are bedazzled for his or her Christmas social gathering, however issues preserve going mistaken. First the visitors arrive too early, then two individuals get locked within the rest room and the ability goes out.
But the revelers can overlook these mishaps, as a result of the actual star of the social gathering is meals like mince pies, salmon mousse and panettone from Waitrose, the premium British grocery store.
Waitrose has a easy message this vacation season: “Even when issues go awry, nice meals makes all of it higher,” stated Nathan Ansell, the retailer’s buyer director.
Because the Christmas promoting frenzy begins–usually known as the U.Okay.’s “Tremendous Bowl”–Waitrose is attempting to face aside by defying vacation advert tropes. There are not any saccharine household gatherings or lush banquets on this yr’s marketing campaign, which as a substitute represents “a enjoyable, grown-up Christmas,” stated Franki Goodwin, chief inventive officer of company Saatchi & Saatchi.
The model’s inventive departure comes after Saatchi & Saatchi earlier this yr gained the promoting account for Waitrose and its sister retailer John Lewis (whose much-anticipated Christmas advert shall be launched later in November). That is additionally the primary vacation marketing campaign below Ansell, who joined Waitrose firstly of 2023.
The brand new advertising and marketing chief and company goal to inject the model with extra humor and modernity, whereas additionally “making it extra accessible,” stated Ansell. As a result of Waitrose is an upmarket grocery retailer, it’s usually seen as a vacation spot for particular events somewhat than an on a regular basis store.
The marketing campaign continues Waitrose’s tagline, “Meals to Really feel Good About,” which it launched in 2022 to emphasise high quality, style, worth and ethics.
The advert’s characters who attend the adults-only vacation social gathering are extra consultant of the model’s demographic–“they occur to be meals lovers and individuals who like to host,” stated Goodwin. There may be even a cameo from Graham Norton, an Irish comic and common TV host within the U.Okay.
Regardless of the movie star look and fancy meals, Waitrose’s advert is about “embracing imperfections” and the humorous features of holidays, Goodwin defined.
Filmmaker Autumn de Wilde–who made the 2020 film Emma–directed the advert and helped create its “heightened sitcom vibes,” Goodwin added. The soundtrack is Depeche Mode’s 1981 hit Simply Can’t Get Sufficient.
Not only for Christmas
Along with the 90-second movie, which debuts on Nov. 2, Waitrose will run product-focused advertisements spotlighting mince pies, social gathering meals, turkey and desserts. It additionally launched a teaser on Halloween, by which a lady dressed as a witch provides younger trick or treaters a tray of mince pies–a British deal with often related solely with Christmas.
