Waitrose today revealed its 2015 Christmas advertising campaign, set around the many moments that make the Christmas season special.

Set to the original 1948 jazz classic of 'Everybody Eats When they Come to my House' by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, the heartwarming advert features a series of stories showing these moments and the role food can often play.

With the campaign line 'Whatever makes your Christmas, make it with Waitrose', the advert highlights the diverse ways we enjoy the festive season. While Christmas traditions can be similar, no two Christmases are celebrated in exactly the same way.

Rupert Thomas, Marketing Director, Waitrose, says: 'We celebrate with food, we unwind with food, we get to know each other with food. Delicious things to eat make the moments that matter even more memorable, especially at Christmas'.

As in the Waitrose Autumn campaign 'The Warmest Season', the Christmas advert continues to feature real-life suppliers who help demonstrate the care taken in producing quality food for Christmas. The advert includes the producer of Waitrose's cave-aged cheddar from Wookey Hole and the Waitrose farm in Leckford, where candles are lit at night to protect vines from the cold weather. The advert also includes a cameo from chef Heston Blumenthal as he adds the final touch to his Chocolate Bucks Fizz Swirl, which will be available in Waitrose branches during the festive period.

The full 60 second advert launches on the retailer's social media channels and waitrose.com on Wednesday 4 November 2015 and will feature on TV for the first time on Sunday 8 November 2015. This follows a teaser campaign which launches on 5 November 2015.

'Whatever makes your Christmas, make it with Waitrose' is the first Christmas advert made for Waitrose by its new creative agency adam&eve DDB, and follows its Autumn ad which aired in October. The agency is also responsible for creating the advertising for John Lewis.

Richard Brim, Executive Creative Director, adam&eveDDB, says: 'Our advert for Waitrose celebrates all those little moments that make Christmas, Christmas, and nine out of ten times, it's all about the food'.

Throughout November and December Waitrose will also be celebrating all of the special and individual moments that symbolise Christmas on its social channels. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Waitrose will be encouraging people to share what really #MakesChristmas for them; whether it's the first mince pie of the year, decorating the Christmas tree with the family or sitting down to dinner on Christmas Day.

For sharing these moments, one lucky winner will receive a grand prize of the 'ultimate Christmas dinner' for 12 people with all the trimmings including food from Waitrose Entertaining, wines from Waitrose Cellar and both dinnerware and tableware from the recently launched WaitroseKitchen.com. More information can be found at waitrose.com/makeschristmas from Monday 9 November.

Notes to editors

* According to Conlumino, July 2013.

Waitrose - the Nation's Favourite Supermarket¹ and winner of the Best Supermarket² and Best Food and Grocery Retailer³ awards - currently has 342 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 61 convenience branches, and another 28 shops at Welcome Break locations. It combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop - dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service.  Waitrose also exports its products to 50 countries worldwide and has seven shops in the Middle East. (www.waitrose.com)

¹ Conlumino Awards, 2014
² Good Housekeeping Best Supermarket 2014, Which? Best Supermarket 2014
³ Verdict Best Food and Grocery Retailer 2014

Enquiries

For further information please contact:

Hannah Chance, Communications Manager Corporate
Email: hannah.chance@waitrose.co.uk
Telephone: 01344 826804
Mobile: 07525 273 147