White Christmas Becomes a Possibility With TK Maxx's Christmas Campaign

Shoppers dreaming of a White Christmas may find that their dreams come true this year, thanks to the innovative festive campaign that will see an exclusive group of shoppers receive the gift of real snow at their homes, for free, courtesy of TK Maxx, the store of big gifts at small prices.

Launching this Friday, the labels-for-less retailer’s bold and highly original Christmas campaign will offer shoppers the chance to pick up the ‘biggest gift at the smallest possible price’, an actual ‘White Christmas’ - for absolutely nothing.

Directed by Ian Pons Jewell and voiced by Bill Nighy, the 30” and 60” spots are shot in the hyperreal, cinematic style that has become the brand’s hallmark. In the film we see a ‘White Christmas’ come to life as a grandfather gifts his granddaughter the iconic ‘White Christmas’ snow globe. We then watch the excitement escalate as a team of TK Maxx ‘snow experts’ cover the house in snow, complete with branded helicopter and snow bazookas. The spot is soundtracked by a re-recorded festive version of pop-rock band Pilot's 1975 hit, Magic.

The activation-led campaign will run in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Poland, combining ATL with print, digital, social, mobile, PR and experiential into a fully integrated, through-the-line campaign. A second spot, airing on 13 December, will document one of the ‘White Christmas’ experiences. The campaign was created by W+K London’s Freddy Taylor, Andrew Bevan and Philippa Beaumont.

A limited number of 2ft, ‘White Christmas’ snow globes will be hidden in stores across Europe. TK Maxx and Wieden+Kennedy London are working with snow experts from film industry specialists Snow Business to bring an actual ‘White Christmas’ to homes (or other locations of their choice).

An innovative digital build also allows shoppers to bag a ‘White Christmas’ from anywhere at any time, via shaking an interactive WebGL snow globe. Visitors to http://shakethesnowglobe.tkmaxx.com can shake their phones (or use their cursors) to get online gifting inspiration, TK Maxx gift cards, and maybe even a ‘White Christmas’.

In the UK and Ireland, the snow globes will be scattered across stores from the 17 November.

Wieden+Kennedy London is responsible for the creative campaign, TVC production, print and digital assets. Mindshare is the media agency, Ogilvy PR is the PR and social agency and Energy is managing experiential. In-store creative will be delivered by TK Maxx’s in-house creative team.

Deborah Dolce, Group Brand and Marketing Director at TK Maxx said: “Our aim was to do something much more exciting than just the traditional Christmas TV ad. We wanted to create a real and magical experience for our shoppers which is great fun and one in which everyone has a chance to participate. A snowy version of a golden ticket! We know that lots of people dream of a White Christmas and it’s a special and very fun way to bring friends and family together. Obviously we are celebrating our big gifts at small prices on a ridiculous scale with this once-in-a lifetime gift.”

 

Hollie Walker, Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy London, added: "At Christmas, TK Maxx is all about big gifts at small prices. We thought what better way to illustrate that than to stock the biggest gift at the smallest price, an actual white Christmas for absolutely nothing. Which means this year we get to make something beyond the festive telly ad, we get to bring real life snow, to people's front doors with a team of snow experts. Oh and if it does snow, we’ve got a little something up our sleeves too."

This is TK Maxx’s second Christmas campaign under the Ridiculous Possibilities brand platform, the gift of a White Christmas delivered for free, symbolising the retailer’s Big Gifts. Small Prices proposition.