A Young Girl Captures Christmas Magic From the Stars in UK Grocer Asda's Holiday Ad

While one of Britain’s favorite sports is rugby (the national team fell just short of the Rugby World Cup championship game this year in a final against South Africa), one could argue that watching Christmas season ads is its marketing equivalent. For some time, the standard-bearers have been John Lewis and Partners, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer with extravagant ads akin to what we see during the Super Bowl here. Yet, over the years, other U.K. retailers have upped the ante, creating work meant to tug mightily at heartstrings. The first salvo in 2019 came from catalog chain Argos, with what might be considered an instant classic. Not far behind is grocery store Asda with a two-minute spot from AMV BBDO that captures the magic of the season. It’s the second campaign from the agency for the retailer. [kickout id="1"] The stars of the show are two precocious children and the Northern Lights, representing Santa’s leftover magic. Tilly, the young girl, sets out to capture that special feeling from the sky, creating a makeshift pole using various things around the house, including her grandfather’s walking stick. A glass jar at the end of the stick scoops up the remnants in the sky and Tilly begins to spread it around, turning a dull village into a vibrant palette of wonder. Of course, all good things come to an end, and a dejected Tilly heads to bed. Her brother, Jack, senses her malaise, and he goes up for another round of magic that greets her the next morning, keeping the mood bright. Perhaps ironically, the ad was shot in Tyldesley, a town outside of Wigan in England, once known for its lackluster Christmas decorations. “Our team loved filming in Tyldesley and getting to know the local community,” said Eilidh Macaskill, vp of creative and media at Asda. “The residents were so welcoming to us, and everyone really got into the festive spirit.” While the ad (and all like them) is meant to drum up business for a U.K. retail sector in severe decline, it also serves as a charitable opportunity with a digital storybook extension benefitting the brand’s Fight Hunger Create Change initiative and its own foundation that supports 1,500 charities across the country. CREDITS: Project: ASDA ‘Let’s Make Christmas Extra Special’ Creative Agency: AMV BBDO Creative Directors: Andy Clough & Rich McGrann Copywriter: Neil Clarke Art Director: Jay Phillips Agency Producer: Nick Godden, Felicity Bamber Director: Tom Green Production Company: Stink Post-production Company: Electric Theatre Collective Producer: Matt Williams 2D Lead: Iain Murray 3D Lead: Tobin Brett Editor: James Forbes-Robertson at Trim Audio Post-production: Parv Thind at WAVE Music Company: Radford Music Composers: Rohan Stevenson and James Radford Clients: Andy Murray (Chief Customer Officer) Eilidh MacAskill (VP Creative and Media) Leah Spears (Senior Director Food Comms) Rebecca Holmes (Senior Campaign Manager) Agency Strategist: Sam Williams & Jack Swain Agency Account Team: Bobbie Gannon, Charlotte Oram, Phoebe Swan, Annabel Jerome, Tom Penrose, Beth McQueen, Amy Blakey Business Affairs: Maxine Thompson & Tony Price Print & Design: Chris Champan, Simon Dilks, Ian Mills, Kate Mahon Interactive: Bashak Yenier, Michelle Walton Media Agency: Blue 449