David Jones asks ‘How do Australians Christmas?’ in new campaign via TBWA Sydney
David Jones officially launched into the festive season last night with media, celebrities and VIPs celebrating the release of the 2016 Christmas campaign at an intimate cocktail party at the retailer’s new Barangaroo store, which will be opened to the general public today.
The 2016 campaign via TBWA Sydney asks the question, ‘How do Australians Christmas?’ with a film to be launched today featuring global superstar and style icon, Cate Blanchett. The film showcases several different scenarios of how people around Australia celebrate the festive holiday season.
With endless possibilities in store for customers, David Jones provides a solution for every possible scenario this Christmas, no matter how they choose to celebrate.
Says David Thomas, chief operating officer, David Jones: “Australians are known for taking a varied and unique approach to the way they celebrate Christmas. Whether it is finding the perfect gift for a loved one, preparing the home for a Christmas feast, curating the perfect outfit for seasonal celebrations or bringing the magic of Christmas alive with engaging activities for your children, David Jones provides endless possibilities for everyone.
“We pride ourselves on offering the best of the world in one place and this is never more apparent than during our peak Christmas trading period.”
To officially launch the Christmas trading period, David Jones’ flagship windows will come to life today with the official unveiling taking place at the Elizabeth Street store. Twelve Year 7 students from Chifley College Mount Druitt Campus are performing ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and ‘Deck the Halls’. These students have participated in CONverge, a music program run by national children’s education charity The Smith Family.
The window reveal will also celebrate a partnership between David Jones and their new charity partner, The Smith Family. David Jones will be participating in their annual Toy and Book Appeal and a Smith Family gift card will be sold from 1st December where David Jones will donate 10% of the value loaded directly to the charity.
The level and detail of the Christmas window creative remains at the highest standard, and this year the window display will feature in five of the windows of the Elizabeth Street store, telling the story of Santa and his team of polar bears as they prepare for Christmas.
The David Jones 2016 Christmas campaign will again see a roll out of instore theatre including; for the first time, Christmas parades in Brisbane and Wellington, a treasure hunt for children in our Bourke Street store, Santa photos, roaming Santa & Christmas fairies in all stores with a toy department, Christmas concerts & pantomimes, Santa PAWtraits, colouring-in competitions, a newly upgraded Magic Cave in Sydney, and much more. The David Jones staff choir will also be once again performing in David Jones’ Elizabeth Street store in the lead up to Christmas.
TBWA Sydney
Executive Creative Directors: Gary Maccreadie and Wesley Hawes
Creative Director: Craig Brooks
Senior Writer: Cameron Dowsett
Senior Art Director: Mark Tallis
Group Business Director: Marnie Darren
Senior Account Director: Colleen Scerri
Producer: Simone O’Connor
Executive Planning Director: Hristos Varouhas
Planning Director: Jonathon Deves
Production Company: Finch
Director: Nick Ball
Executive Producer: Rob Galuzzo
Producer: Julianne Shelton
DOP: Lachlan Milne
Production Designer: Neville Stevenson
Post Production: The Butchery
Executive Producer: Amelia Babos
Visual Editor: Jack Hutchings
Visual Effects: Blockhead
Senior Producer: James Eivers
Effects Supervisor: Stefan Coory
Grade: Trish Cahill
Sound Design & SFX: Sonar
Audio Director: Wes Chew
Engineer: Timothy Bridge
Producer: Sophie Haydon, Anwyn Watkins
Music Production: Smith & Western
Executive Producer: Dan Higson
Composers: Ant Smith, Nick West
Original Song by Slade
‘Merry Xmas Everybody’
Published by Sony ATV
Music Supervision: Trailer Media
Anton Trailer
29 Comments
That must have cost a small fortune.
Beautiful but lacking in emotion. Shame as for that budget it should have been great. Instead it could be for anyone but DJ’s and leaves me feeling cold.
Love this – captures a real aussie xmas
Wonderful.
The traditions are what makes Christmas so special. Its nice to see DJs embracing the family quirks and moments. Well done!
Thanks to Smith & Western for the awesome soundtrack
Good to see something big with quality. I really can’t take anymore low grade content rubbish.
@ Ka-ching ain’t nuthin going to warm your cold dead heart bro.
This is cool, finally an Aussie brand that pulls out the wallet and does a proper xmas ad. Nice craft, funny and makes me like the brand a bit more. Job done.
The opening shot is awesome, nice transition then this shit house patronising manifesto kicks in over some really dull shots.
You do it early. You do it late. You do it… “Fuck Off…. I don’t want to listen to this!” …then you realise you’ve just told Cate Blanchett to fuck off and you feel really bad. Because Cate’s nice. You like Cate. But you want to punch whoever wrote this in the head, shut up and stop telling me what you think I want to hear! I don’t want to relate to your shitty plastic ‘advertising’ reality… It’s not real! It’s shite! And it should be way better if it’s the same agency that did that awesome Game of Thrones ‘date night’ thing but there’s just something really awful about this… Not Cate. Cate’s great.
Cate’s wonderful.
You should’ve hired him to write the VO.
Spot the Whybins commenters praising the clients for spending loads of cash.
Sure, we all dream of big budgets, but when you waste them like this it ruins it for everyone else. What a missed opportunity.
Nicely done. For a manifesto.
I like it a lot for what it is!
CAM AND MARK FTW.
All of the people who made this deserve an Oscar.
So wooden. So bad. So amateur.
A great opportunity. Gracefully missed.
I like it. The voice over really holds my hand through those awkwardly long scenes.
I like it.
Didn’t bore me or leave me feeling cold. Thought it was lovely and cute and quite clever.
Cheer up you bloody grinches!
Maybe, just maybe, if this was written in a more open plan office, maybe, just maybe, in Canberra, it would have been just a little more beautiful.
IF YOU ASKD ME HOW I CRISTMAS, ID TELL YOU THAT IT IS ALL ABOUT GOING DOWN TO THE SHIRE WITH THE LADS AND HAVING A ICE COLD SHOEY AS WE THROW SHUKKAS AT THE SUN SET . FUCKN LOVE STRALIA AND XMAS.
Ka-Ching …… your a moron and a jealous one! Why dont you tag us some amazing work that you have done. Curious to see how you express emotion.
Ka-Ching …. Why dont you tag us some amazing work that you have done. Curious to see how you express emotion.
You had Cate Blanchett. Great well done. But all those other bullshit scenes weren’t necessary.
I was watching the ad with a couple of kids. Couldn’t help but cringe with the still believing in santa comment. I know us advertising folks are hardened adults but your audience is parents and kids. Have some consideration.
Little details matter and that little detail lost you this potential customer.
i love it, beautifully executed.
Wow. When I think about the budget. That wasteful annoying VO. How could anyone make Cate annoying? Ya managed it. Should have been magical. Instead you feel nothing but the remote in my hand changing the channel.. PS Did the director do the grade and VFX himself? Looks like an at home job.
Well made and a much more enjoyable way to bring in the Xmas season than the barrage of retail ads that are bound to overwhelm us.
There’s a story here and a human truth, which connects. Good work.
Worst use of a celebrity ever.
90 seconds of wank with a final reveal the VO is Cate B.
Ok, lets be real here.
It’s far too slow – whoever directed/edited it tried to build emotion through pause, failed miserably as the story is dull. Makes you want to switch channels / fast forward / burn your eyes.
The VO is terrible.
It’s all a massive cliche, a terrible cliche.
Could have any brand on the end.. Any brand, at all, anywhere in the world.
Yes, Mr Thomas: “Australians are known for taking a varied and unique approach to the way they celebrate Christmas”
However, that still doesn’t entitle you to murder the English language by saying: “how do you christmas?”. Please note: Christmas will never be a verb, and you insult many people’s intelligence and religious commitment by trying to make it so.
You’ve lost this customer.
Well done with a great 70’s song from Slade “Merry Xmas Everybody” .