Paddington Bear Saves Christmas in Marks & Spencer's Heartwarming Holiday Work

First Work From Grey London Is Directed by Daniel Kleinman

Published On
Nov 07, 2017

Editor's Pick

Marks & Spencer's first holiday work through Grey London is a snow-filled, heartwarming ad featuring Paddington Bear, in a tie-up with the newly released movie "Paddington 2."

The spot places the animated bear from the film, voiced by actor Ben Whishaw, in a new story that sees Paddington finding a burglar on the roof of his house and mistaking him for Santa. Paddington's characteristic enthusiasm results in the hapless crook having to return all the gifts he's stolen, although he finally rediscovers the magic of Christmas for himself. True to the spirit of the books and films, Paddington ends up an unwitting hero-- though for having been seen with Santa, rather than capturing the burglar.

The spot will be shown in cinemas as the last ad before screenings of "Paddington 2" in a deal with Digital Cinema Media struck by Mindshare. Daniel Kleinman of Rattling Stick directed the spot, which features post production by Framestore.

The retailer will be publishing a storybook to go along with the ad, with all proceeds going to charity the NSPCC. There will also be a dedicated "Paddington" shop in 78 M&S stores, selling over 90 Paddington-themed products.

In using a much-loved children's book character to win over a Christmas audience , M&S is following in the footsteps of the Sainsbury's Christmas ad from 2015 featuring Mog the cat, while this year also sees Asda with an ad clearly inspired by another children's favorite, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Credits

Date
Nov 07, 2017
Brand :
Marks & Spencer
Client :
Marks & Spencer
Agency :
Grey-London
Creative Director :
Jonathan Marlow
Creative Director :
Henrik Ridderheim
Art Director :
Sam Daly
Copywriter :
Robert Greaves
Writer :
Simon Farnaby
Senior Producer :
Thea Evely
Producer Assistant :
Serena Hodgson
Producer Assistant :
Leah Stolerman
Group Business Director :
Katie Jackson
Business Director :
Lucy Kozak
Account Director :
Sophie Mattacott-Cousins
Account Manager :
Hannah Austin
Account Executive :
Alice Lowden
Planning Partner :
Jonny Ng
Senior Planner :
Sarah Oberman
Director :
Daniel Kleinman
Producer :
Johnnie Frankel
Editor :
John Smith
Edit :
The Whitehouse Post
Music :
Wake The Town
Composer :
Alex Baranowski
Post Production :
Framestore
Visual Effects Producer :
Chris Gray
Visual Effects Supervisor :
Ben Cronin
Voiceover Artist :
Ben Whishaw
Actor :
Mark Benton
Actor :
Olivia Dixon
Actor :
Mikey Dixon
Mom :
Olivia Lee
Dad :
Denver Isaac
Newsreader :
Angela Rippon
Writer :
Timothy Knapman
Illustration :
Becky Cameron
Original Story :
Grey London
Original Story :
Simon Farnaby

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