Thinkbox
Top British acting talent, great direction, a gripping cliffhanger and a large scoop of festive intrigue is the recipe that has served up the latest Thinkboxes win for Waitrose & Partners.
The two-part film, directed by Lucy Forbes and featuring an all-star cast – including Matthew Macfadyen (Succession), Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education), Sian Clifford (Fleabag) and Dustin Demri-Burns (Slow Horses) – is a festive TV whodunnit about a missing pudding.
“TV is our biggest and most effective mass reach channel,” says Waitrose & Partners’ senior advertising manager Alia Ahmad. “It’s a great medium for storytelling and emotional engagement, allowing creative freedom and a platform to showcase brand personality.”
The brief was to celebrate and appeal to Waitrose’s target audience – “food lovers” it defines as people who adore good food and rely on Waitrose to provide it – with a focus on the pressure they feel to create a fabulous Christmas. And what some might do to achieve it.
From there arose, the idea of a Christmas whodunnit.
Read the full article on Campaign.
Waitrose: “Sweet suspicion: a Waitrose mystery”
- Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi London
- Creative team: Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer; Brodie King, creative director; Ali Dickinson, creative director; Joaquin Olascoaga, creative; Alexandria Bailey, creative; Max Henderson, design director; Weronika Szklarek, designer; Ollie Agius, stills art director; Caroline Paris, social group creative director
- Client: Nathan Ansell; Joanne Massey; Alia Ahmad; Vinay Patel
- Production company: Smuggler
- Director: Lucy Forbes
JD Sports: “The family portrait”
- Agency: Uncommon Creative Studio
- Creative team: Uncommon Creative Studio
- Production company: Love Song
- Director: Elliot Power and Sameneh Aminzadeh
John Lewis: “The gifting hour”
- Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi London
- Creative team: Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer; Eoin McLaughlin, executive creative director; Ali Dickinson, creative director; Mia Silverman, associate creative director
- Client: Charlotte Lock, customer director; Rosie Hanley, marketing director
- Production company: Riff Raff
- Director: Francois Rousselet
Morrisons: “The greatest show at home”
- Agency: Leo Burnett
- Creative team: Gareth Butters, Kimberley Gill
- Client: Jennifer England, head of marketing communications
- Production company: Partizan
- Director: Michael Gracey
Sainsbury’s: “Sainsbury’s BIG Christmas”
- Agency: New Commercial Arts
- Creative team: Ian Heartfield, founder and chief creative officer; Dan Bailey, creative director; Brad Woolf, creative director
- Client: Emma Bisley, head of campaigns
- Production company: Sam Brown
- Director: Rogue Films
