Waitrose's Six-Minute Christmas Film Drew 2.5 Million ITV Viewers

By Tom Whitfield

Waitrose pulled more than 2.5 million overnight viewers for a six-minute Christmas film aired on ITV primetime immediately before "Emmerdale" — beating the 2 million viewers who tuned into "EastEnders" the same evening. Wonderhood Studios produced "The Perfect Gift 2" with director Molly Manners, reuniting Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson in a full cinematic rom-com scored by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. It is the longest advertisement a UK supermarket has ever created.

Aidan McClure, Wonderhood's chief creative officer, made the point directly for industry cynics who claim consumers will not sit through six minutes: the ambition was to be the entertainment, rather than interrupt it. The media plan, built with MG OMD, treats the 30- and 60-second traditional spots as trailers that land the brand proposition and push audiences to the full film on catch-up, social media and the ITV X home page.

What else moved this week?

Morrisons reimagined Goldilocks with animatronic bears in "Christmas Made Just Right," from Leo UK and director Nick Ball, supported by out-of-home and social teasers. M&S cast James Norton as a beardless "Hot Santa" opposite Lucy Punch's deadpan Mrs Claus in Mother's "The Home of Christmas," directed by Shannon Murphy with Katherine Jenkins singing "Heaven Is a Place on Earth." The format lets M&S weave food, fashion, beauty and home into one story rather than four product showcases.

Disney's "The Invisible Horse," from adam&eve\TBWA and Blinkink director Dougal Wilson, follows a child questioning his belief in magic. Wilson eschews heavy CGI in favor of subtle physical cues, set against "Oo-De-Lally" from "Robin Hood." Nike's "Street Vision," shot in Tokyo by director Walid Labri with DIVISION and The Mayda Creative Co, promotes the Tech SF3 range in three minutes of stop-motion, crash zooms and fourth-wall breaks that reference Japanese cinema and Y2K video games.

toom Baumarkt marked the November 9 anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with the true story of Achim Neumann, an engineer who dug tunnels under the wall and helped 89 people escape East Germany. Agency Scholz & Friends and director Leve Kühl built the spot around the retailer's slogan — roughly, "Respect to those who do it themselves" — a deliberate contrast to competitor Hornbach's expressionistic marketing.

Netflix released three simultaneous films from Mother and director duo Vania & Muggia: an axolotl restoring service for its aquatic companions, an astronaut obsessed with "K-Pop Demon Hunters" waking his crewmate, and a vampire burning in sunlight to finish an episode of "Love is Blind." Each makes the same case: audiences will go to extreme lengths for Netflix content.

What do the riskier bets show?

MIRI's "Do Not Accept," from Don't Panic and ProdCo director Alex Takács, crowdsourced more than 70 genuine, unscripted moments from 19 countries and paired them with the everyday habit of blindly accepting terms and conditions. Tourism Tasmania and agency BMF sent a man chasing a "world famous" pastry queue through streets, under bridges, over piers and into the sea before he lands on an empty Tasmanian shore under the tagline "Come Down For Air."

WWF Norway, with Oslo agency Smeh and director Sara Haag, ran a speed-tour guide around melting Arctic terrain. The film states the region is "melting by the minute" while the Norwegian government wants to explore it for oil.

Movember paired musician Jordan Stephens, director Tom Tennant and Witness Productions to film best friends asked "How do you guys show affection for each other — are you tactile?" before recreating historical poses of male friendship from the late 19th and early 20th century, when sitting hand in hand was commonplace.

What does the week signal for marketers?

The remaining picks round out a clear pattern. Apple's holiday film, directed by Melina Matsoukas, follows an artist finding his creative voice. JD Sports and Uncommon cast 25 "futurists" — creators, musicians and athletes — in "Create The New," directed by the Reid Brothers and soundtracked by "It's Not Over Yet." ECD Josh Tenser said the brand speaks to young, creative people less inclined toward quiet seasonal comfort. Penhaligon's turned a festive train station into a theatrical set, produced by 360PM with music from YOUTH MODE. The Strokes released a Warren Fu-directed video inspired by Genesis' "Land of Confusion" puppet collaboration. Agency Taboo even launched its own brand: Nasty Nun, a premium non-alcoholic aperitif developed with mixologist Thurman Wise.

The lesson for practitioners sits in the Waitrose numbers. A six-minute film outdrew a rival soap opera because the media architecture, not the edit, carried the load — and every other campaign on this list earns attention by committing to one clear idea at full length.