Thinkbox
Asda takes pride in being the people’s supermarket. And it was being in lockstep with the people at a time of looming economic crisis that made its heart-warming, entertaining and - ultimately - optimistic “Have your Elf a Merry Christmas” ad top of the festive TV spots. The commercial was voted the Thinkboxes winner for November/December.
Asda has always been “on the side of the customer,” Stephi Brett-Lee, senior director of Asda Brand Communications explains. “We started to feel the economic situation bite quite early on in the year, and we began implementing a range of initiatives to help people.”“Despite the crisis, we discovered our customers were not going to compromise when it came to their family’s enjoyment of Christmas - but showing tables stacked with opulent food felt at odds with what was going on. However, we knew people were looking for a bit of joy, so we briefed Havas to give them some.”And it was “a bit of a no-brainer”, she adds, that the channel of choice for delivering that joy was TV.
“TV plays a huge role in our comms plan,” Brett-Lee says. “While the comms landscape has changed over the past few years, there is nothing more joyous than people discussing what they collectively saw on the telly last night – just look at the success of Gogglebox. “Christmas is when TV really comes into its own. We wanted to be part of that.” It was “a dream brief”, says Havas London chief creative officer Vicki Maguire.
To view the full article visit Campaign.co.uk.
Asda “Have your Elf a Merry Christmas”
- Agency: Havas London
- Creative team: Vicki Maguire, Dan Cole, Andy Garnett, Rob Greaves, Sam Daly
- Client: Stephi Brett-Lee
- Production company: Rattling Stick
- Director: Danny Kleinman
Boots “Joy for All”
- Agency: The Pharm/VMLY&R
- Creative team: Laurent Simon, Sara Rose, Lee Hanson, Mark Prime
- Client: Pete Markey
- Production company: Academy
- Director: Si&Ad
John Lewis “The Beginner”
- Agency: Adam & Eve/DDB
- Creative team: Matt Gay & Feargal Balance; Edward Usher & Xander Hurt; Andy Clough & Richard McGrann
- Client: Holly Kicul
- Production company: Biscuit Filmworks
The National Lottery “A Christmas Love Story”
- Agency: Adam & Eve DDB
- Creative team: Ben Tollett, executive creative director; Forrest Clancy and Jay Parekh, creatives
- Client: Anna McInally
- Production company: Smuggler
- Director: Tom Hooper
TK Maxx “Christmas Nailed”
- Agency: Wieden+Kennedy London
- Creative team: Paddy Treacy, creative director; Hannah Smit, creative director; Georgina Brisby, creative; Marcelo Duarte, creative; Susan Hoffman, executive creative director
- Client: Deborah Dolce
- Production company: Riff Raff
- Director: Max Siedentopf
