Mother launch experiential Christmas campaign for Debenhams

At the time of writing, Christmas is 47 days away. That gives you 46 days to think about buying your nearest and dearest a selection of incredibly thoughtful gifts before abandoning the idea and settling on the usual array of half-arsed novelty books, shower gel sets, and Burtons gift cards. It also gives you 46 days to gorge on adverts that celebrate all things tinsel-tinged.

High street stalwart Debenhams have decided to do things a little differently this Christmas. Their seasonal advert offering — conceptualised and delivered by London-based agency Mother — is, they say, an attempt to eschew “vanity project” spots in favour of a more experiential affair.

Bringing together an old Kiki Dee record, kindly uncles, dinosaurs, wooly hats, and some seriously fluffy slippers, the 20 second shorts — which launch digitally today, before appearing on the nation’s TV screens on Friday 9 November — celebrate the joy of giving. Which, after cold turkey sandwiches, chocolate liqueurs, and having to hoover up fallen pine needles deep into January, is what Christmas is all about really.

The adverts will be part of a wider campaign, which features gin bars and gift markets housed in 70 stores across the country. Talking to Marketing Week, Debenhams’ managing director of beauty and marketing, Richard Cristofoli says that in the current retail environment — and the alleged death of the British high street is a story for another day — the idea of producing what might come across as a “vanity project TV ad” seems a little off.

Whether the ‘Do a bit of you know you did good’ campaign gets people into the department store between now and the big day remains to be seen.