Waitrose reunites Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson for another helping of Christmas romance in The Perfect Gift 2

• The retailer returns with The Perfect Gift 2, a six-minute festive romcom starring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson, who are joined this year by Alex Hassell as Hugo Bunty-Griffin – Phil’s new love rival
• Created in partnership with Wonderhood Studios and once again directed by BAFTA-award winning Molly Manners
• The mini-movie will premiere on YouTube and Waitrose.com today and the campaign will be supported across TV, Video on Demand and Cinema, as well as Print, OOH, Audio, Social, Online, PR and In store

Love is in the air again at Waitrose, as Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson return for The Perfect Gift 2, a festive romcom packed with romance, rivalry and a generous helping of Christmas chaos. The six-minute film raises the bar for festive brand storytelling yet again, with the latest installment officially the longest ad ever created by a UK supermarket.

Building on the positive response to last year’s campaign, The Perfect Gift 2 delivers Waitrose’s ‘Home of food lovers’ positioning, reinforcing its reputation as the ultimate food and drink destination for shoppers who are looking for high-quality ingredients, outstanding taste and a wide range of inspiring products and recipe ideas.

The six minute spectacular is part of a 360-degree Christmas campaign, with Omnicom Media agency, MG OMD, leading the media strategy, planning and buying to deliver a connected,full-funnel approach designed to build awareness, deepen engagement and bring the brand experience into customers’ everyday lives. Across paid, owned and earned channels, the campaign adopts the same tactics as marketing a movie, utilising long-form entertainment, trailers, cinema, radio, social content, OOH and retail touchpoints to extend the story and showcase Waitrose’s festive food credentials.

Knightley reprises her role as herself, alongside Wilkinson as Phil ‘Phil Phil’, the lovelorn everyman who won her heart last Christmas. This time, however, there’s a new rival in the picture: Hugo Bunty-Griffin, played by Alex Hassell, a suave groom-to-be with charm to spare.

With Keira seemingly destined for a life with Hugo, Phil is left heartbroken and in need of a grand gesture. Enter his best friends, a selection of Waitrose ingredients and a plan to win her back with a homemade beef Wellington. What follows is a festive race against the clock, with a few twists, a troublesome dog and one very pointed jar of sauce labelled “Marry Me Instead?”

More than a festive love story, The Perfect Gift 2 puts food at the heart of the action, showing how it can bring people together and help express what words sometimes can’t. From the No.1 Handmade Polar Bear Bao Buns to the beef Wellington at the centre of Phil’s grand gesture, Waitrose’s festive range sits at the heart of a story about love, generosity and connection – reinforcing the role of food in life’s most meaningful moments.

Nathan Ansell, Waitrose Chief Customer Officer said: “Building on the overwhelming customer demand and huge success of last year’s campaign, The Perfect Gift 2 represents a strategic evolution of our festive narrative, designed to drive deeper brand engagement and reinforce our Home of Food Lovers positioning. Last year demonstrated that emotional, entertainment-first storytelling effectively cuts through the festive noise, builds strong brand affinity, and creates genuine cultural momentum. With this ambitious sequel, our goal is to build on that connection, bring our story full circle, and give audiences a compelling reason to return.

We significantly raised the creative and production stakes by extending the mini-film by two minutes, making it an ambitious six-minute cinematic romcom – the longest ad produced by a UK supermarket – while keeping our exceptional food credentials firmly at the narrative core. By leaning into the high-stakes romance, humor, and theatrical charm of classic big-screen sequels, The Perfect Gift 2 delivers a high-impact, 360-degree campaign aimed at driving both emotional brand love and strong commercial momentum across all paid, owned, and earned channels.”

Directed once again by Molly Manners, through Biscuit Filmworks, the film gives Phil’s increasingly desperate mission the full Hollywood treatment. Snow-dusted stately home, sweeping tracking shots and an original score recorded by the world renowned Prague Philharmonic Orchestra give the story cinematic ambition, while keeping the focus firmly on the food and the emotions that surround it.

Wonderhood Creatives Jennifer Ashton and Oli Short created the campaign, and the partnership with Keira Knightley, Joe Wilkinson and Alex Hassell was orchestrated by Anne Batz and her team at Talent Republic.

The 60” and 30” trailers are narrated by Gary Martin, best known as the voice of the Honey Monster, the film closes with Jennifer Rush’s ‘The Power of Love’, reinforcing its central message: sometimes the best way to tell someone you love how you feel is through food.

Molly Manners, Director, said: “It’s been an absolute joy to extend the Waitrose cinematic universe and whole heartedly embrace the Rom and the Com this year. I love this team and this cast and am so excited to see the curveball of Alex Hassell as Phil’s love rival unleashed.”

Jack Croft and Stacey Bird, Executive Creative Directors, Wonderhood Studios, said: “It’s been wonderful to return to our festive romcom this year. We always felt that Keira and Phil’s love story had more to give, and we hope the love, time and craft we’ve poured into this sequel has made it every bit as entertaining as the first film, if not more.

And that’s really what this campaign is all about: giving audiences more. More story, more surprises, more laughs, more stunts, more extra content and, thankfully, more pastry.”

Gerry Ridgway, Chief Client Development Officer, MG OMD said: “Following last year’s runaway success, we’ve given the sequel the blockbuster treatment – launching with the cinematic scale, spectacle and ubiquity of a major film release through a multi-channel campaign tailored to our food lover audience  – cementing Waitrose as the Home of Food Lovers and the destination for Christmas food and drink”

The six-minute film sits at the heart of a wider campaign spanning paid, owned and earned activity, with shorter creative executions giving audiences more ways to discover the story and its cast.

The campaign will run across TV, Video on Demand and Cinema, supported by OOH, Audio, Social, Online, PR and in-store activity. Waitrose’s owned channels, including YouTube and Waitrose.com, will host the full film, while shorter 60-second and 30-second movie-style trailers offer additional ways for audiences to discover the story. Romcom-inspired movie posters extend the campaign’s cinematic look and feel beyond the screen.

Alongside the festive short will sit a series of playful product ads that act as independent romcoms. They  see the cast fall in love at first sight at the irresistible delights of Waitrose’s festive range including No.1 Ham & Cheese Croissant Stacks, No.1 Slow Cooked Double Butter Basted Free Range Turkey Crown, No.1 Frosted Raspberry, No.1 Pistachio & Sour Cherry Frangipane Mince Pies and Rick Stein with Waitrose Signature Cure Cornish Sea Salt Smoked Salmon.

Further building on Waitrose’s ambition to behave more like a food entertainment brand, the film’s launch will be supported by a press junket, alongside BTS content featuring the talent, bloopers, cooking content with @whatwillycook and a partnership with Meet Cutes London. Together with the long-form film, short-form creative and product-led advertising, these additional touchpoints create multiple opportunities for audiences to engage with Waitrose throughout the Christmas period, connecting the entertainment and emotional appeal of the story with the quality and breadth of its festive food range.

The film premieres on Waitrose’s owned channels, including YouTube, at 06:30 on 10 November. Two shorter, 60-second and 30-second movie-style trailers tease the twists and turns, while romcom-inspired movie posters extend the cinematic world beyond the screen.

Watch The Perfect Gift 2 at www.waitrose.com/theperfectgift.

Source: Wonderhood Studios

  Advertising, Campaign, Christmas, Joe Wilkinson, Keira Knightley, Marketing, MG OMD, UK, Waitrose, Wonderhood Studios