Fortnum & Mason has revealed its new Christmas marketing campaign, created by London studio OTHERWAY in collaboration with BAFTA-winning animation home Studio AKA. Titled A Fantastical Christmas, the work builds on final 12 months’s festive route however locations the highlight firmly on the model’s historic house at 181 Piccadilly.
The marketing campaign continues Fortnum’s partnership with Berlin-based illustrator Olaf Hajek, whose hand-painted characters have turn into intently tied to the model’s Christmas id. This time, the characters take viewers on a whimsical tour of the constructing, slipping behind the scenes to disclose the craft, care and seasonal rituals that go into Fortnum’s merchandise.
Throughout a 30-second hero movie, the animated forged strikes via a sequence of tiny vignettes: including fizz to champagne, wrapping the well-known reward containers, making ready tea, and, lastly, assembling a hamper that travels out of the constructing within the closing shot. The second additionally nods to Fortnum’s newly unveiled Double Helix staircase, which opened final month as a sweeping architectural centrepiece.
The animation blends CG product rendering with 2D textures that mimic the tactile, paper-like high quality of Hajek’s illustrations, giving the movie a stop-frame heat harking back to childhood TV specials. “This 12 months now we have crafted a way more bold marketing campaign that goals to deliver viewers into the magic of 181 Piccadilly,” says animation director Marcus Armitage.
Alongside the movie, the marketing campaign rolls out throughout OOH, utilizing snapshot moments to hero Hajek’s illustrations and Fortnum’s festive vary. Crispin Butler, director of promoting and communications at Fortnum & Mason, explains how the work represents a joyful continuation of the model’s seasonal storytelling.
She says: “For the longest time, Fortnum & Mason has been on the centre of the very best Christmas tales, and this 12 months we’re proud to unveil a joyful new chapter with Olaf’s distinctive illustrations and our iconic 181 Piccadilly retailer on the coronary heart of the storytelling.”
Ben Lewin, design associate at OTHERWAY, provides that extending the on-pack narrative into a totally animated world felt like a pure subsequent step. “Two years after reimagining the Christmas packaging, bringing the on-pack tales into this second collaboration with Olaf has been extraordinary – uniting craft and creativity.”
The marketing campaign is now dwell throughout Fortnum & Mason’s festive touchpoints and can run all through the Christmas interval.
