Christmas creep is pretty much here, so it's time for an ad about opening gifts. Luckily, this one's good for some laughs.
The spot, for Mulberry, is adam&eveDDB's first work for the high-end British fashion retailer. And indeed, in its timing and staging, it's bound to evoke another famous adam&eveDDB production—last year's "I Spent It On Myself" campaign for Harvey Nichols.
But the story line runs in the opposite direction.
A family of means competes for the affection of their resident preppy princess. Naturally, suspense abounds … who will win? The darling artsy sister? The smug mother? The even more smarmy beau? Or the grandmother who's been around long enough to know what life's really about, and that everyone else is just trying way too hard?
It's probably best to watch before reading, since a lot of the fun is in the reveals. But suffice it to say, you'll like the ad if you're a sucker for cute dogs—especially ones that do nifty tricks. And before you roll your eyes like Grandma at the lofty airs of the fop getting his lady a horse (what is, he nouveau riche?)—you should know it isn't just any horse.
The punch line can't help but be a little disappointing, just because the setup is so good, and a hard sales pitch is only ever so rewarding. But the spot does save itself with the pure insanity of the princess's celebration, and Grandma's no-nonsense bead on her descendant's bratty tastes (though let's be real, she probably would have been happy so long as she upstaged Mom).
In other words, Mulberry gets points for ribbing its target, even if there's some logic to the materialism: A $1,700 purse has to require less maintenance than a purebred puppy, and certainly, one imagines, a unicorn.
As for the sister, who knows what she was thinking?
CREDITS
Client: Mulberry
Project name: #WinChristmas
Creative Agency: adam&eveDDB, London
Executive Creative Directors: Ben Priest, Ben Tollet & Emer Stamp
Creative Directors: Richard Brim & Daniel Fisher
Copywriter: Miles Carter
Art Director: Sophie Knox
Business Director: Paul Billingsley
Account Manager: Olivia Chittenden
Production Company: Rattling Stick
Director: Andy McLeod
Editor: Johnnie Scarlett at The Quarry
Soundtrack name and composer: When It’s Christmas Time 5 (1792/41) David Tobin (PRS/BMI)/ Jeff Meegan (BMI) Charley Harrison (ASCAP)
Illustrator: Harry Malt
Postproduction: Big Buoy
Audio Postproduction: Wave