As the Christmas party season has begun, British supermarket chain Asda has released its first standalone campaign to promote the partywear from its clothing line George, which aims to loudly and confidently celebrate LGBTQ+ counter-culture.
Created by Impero, which worked with the clothing brand on its “Back to School” campaign earlier this year, the new spot titled “Tis The Season To Slay It” aims to offer something new as George at Asda looks to position itself as a credible part of the high street fashion landscape over the holiday.
The spot celebrates New York Ball Culture, which is popular within the Latin American and African American LGBTQ+ subculture. It transports that scene defiantly into an old-fashioned British pub, led by Jabarii King—who enters initially worried but throws off their coat to show the sparkly outfit underneath.
What follows is a dance routine, showing off much of this year’s Christmas party apparel, as everyone in the pub joins in.
The brand has also partnered with the organization Diversity Role Models and made a $133,000 (100,000 pounds) donation to combat bullying experienced by LGTBQ+ people in schools.
Revealing that around a fifth of high school students who realize their LGBTQ+ identities experience homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, Adam McCann, CEO of Diversity Role Models, added that almost half of the community still felt they could not be their authentic selves when visiting home during the holidays.
“There remains a huge opportunity to encourage young people to celebrate difference and include everyone, to avoid the psychological effects from bullying and isolation. We’re proud to partner on this campaign because it puts joy at the heart of embracing who you are and encourages everyone to be themselves,” he continued.
In a statement, Claudia Solano, head of creative at George, explained: “After the last 18 months we knew a lot of brands would be portraying the perfect family gathering, but for some of our customers Christmas time can be overwhelming and that’s why we thought it was important to celebrate the festive period in a totally inclusive way—letting our customers feel empowered to show up at the table as the very best version of themselves.”
Alongside the main TV spot, which is released December 1 across the U.K.—a TikTok challenge has begun for users to create videos of them strutting while wearing their most glamorous Christmas outfits, with positive attitudes and killer poses expected too.
Other touchpoints will include OOH executions and six-second social cut downs from the spot, including influencers sharing their struts, poses and party wear.
Emily Winterbourne, managing director of Impero, said of the strategy: “It was of paramount importance to stay authentic to the scene: to celebrate it and bring it to a wider audience, so we worked with people who were part of or supporters of the scene. The director, producer, choreographer, the lead and supporting dancers, the musicians and more. All were fully bought into the story right from the start. Hopefully, we’ve created something genuinely impactful and truly joyful as a result.”
CREDITS
George Head of Creative Content: Claudia Solano
George Content Specialist: Isabella Christon
Creative Agency: Impero
ECD: Michael Scantlebury
Creative Director: Alastair Mills
Design Director: Longbin Li
Strategy Director: Charlotte Willcocks
Creative team: Josh Mansell and Zara Bennett
Account team: Lauren McGregor and Ginny Wilson
Design team: Jimmy Leung and Cristina Corredor
Senior Producer: Clare Thomson
Director: Jade Ang Jackman
Lead Talent: Jabarii King
Production Company: Black Dog Films
Producer: Manoela Chiabai
Executive Producer: Martin Roker
Production Manager: Joshua Noon
D.O.P: Olan Collardy
1st Ad: Eno Enifiok
Gaffer: Lee Parfitt
Production Design: Ranya El–Refaey
Stylist: Mia Maxwell
Make Up: Mata Marielle
Choreographer: Jordan Kindell
Stills Photographer: Micaela McLucas
Edit: TRIM
Offline Editor: Matt Newman
Post Production Agency: Cheat
Post Producer: Nicki Coombes
Colorist: Jonny Tully
Online Editor: Paul Wratten
Music Composer and Producer: Abdu Ali and Mighty Mark
Lead Sound Engineer: Matt Cheney
