LONDON, UK — Waitrose has unveiled the second installment of its Christmas advert titled “Sweet Suspicion, A Waitrose Mystery.” In this campaign, the nation’s curiosity will finally be satisfied as they reveal who stole the No.1 Red Velvet Bauble Dessert.
The campaign has so far amassed over 150m views across social, TV, and digital channels, making part one of Waitrose’s biggest-ever Christmas campaign, ranking Number One on YouTube’s Christmas Ad Leaderboard. Supported by a series of polls on Waitrose.com and Waitrose social channels, customers ranked Fig the Cat (18%) the top suspect, followed closely by Gamma (17%) and May (15%) with the least suspicious being our (guilty) devoted cook – Steve (8%).
The two-part festive mystery, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, has had food lovers up and down the country conspiring who out of its star-studded cast could be responsible for the fridge theft since the first episode went live earlier in November.
Viewers are invited to immerse themselves in the drama one last time as the detective, played by Matthew Macfadyen, unravels the mystery of the missing No.1 Waitrose Red Velvet Bauble Dessert. The film follows the detective again as he works to establish a motive, switching back to moments on Christmas Day when the guilty party could have gotten their hands on the dessert.
We then see the detective working out how someone could pull off such a delicious crime before revealing that Steve hid the dessert in the gingerbread house under everyone’s noses – before being caught in the act in the family garden shed enjoying the first bite. Once unveiled, the film ends with the whole family digging into the delicious dessert, which is set to be a festive showstopper for food lovers this Christmas.
Nathan Ansell, Customer Director at Waitrose, comments: “The last few weeks have been filled with suspicion, guessing, and alibis. Customers and Partners alike have been getting into the ‘whodunnit’ spirit, from wearing the ad t-shirts in store with their predictions of who the culprit is, we’ve also seen huge engagement on social media polls and I’ve even had customers getting in touch with their own detailed theories and pictures. I can’t wait for everyone to find out who did it! So here’s to celebrating with some amazing GOOD food and seeing the surprise or smug looks on everyone’s faces.”
Joe Wilkinson, who plays the part of Uncle Phil, says “I’ve been getting accused left, right, and center so I’m glad the public now knows that it wasn’t me.”
Dustin Demri-Burns, who plays food lover Steve says “I can fully empathise with Steve and his pud-thieving ways. The pressure of making Christmas wonderful can get to us all — sometimes we just want to eat our pudding in the shed and that’s ok.”
Franki Goodwin, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: ‘The response to Sweet Suspicion Part 1 has been immense. We’ve imbibed the internet gleefully every day since launch as the whole nation has been speculating. It’s been especially fun to watch as all the other brilliant pieces of this campaign have come to life – from the partner T-shirts in stores to the celebrity sleuths, with all of our alibi content being as richly enjoyed as the main ad. So here it is… the big reveal! And to quote a guilty pudding scoffer, “It’s really good”.
The culprit was revealed on TV last November 26 during the “Great British Bake Off” on Channel 4, and in “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here” on ITV – 21:15.
The No.1 Red Velvet Dessert at the heart of the mystery will be available from December 19th in shops or to pre-order now through Waitrose.com. Until then, food lovers can treat themselves to individual Red Velvet Bauble Desserts which are available in-store and online now, and indulge in Waitrose’s delicious Christmas range alongside the suspense of this festive whodunnit.
CREDITS
CAMPAIGN TITLE: SWEET SUSPICION
CLIENT: Waitrose
ADVERTISING AGENCY: Saatchi & Saatchi
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Franki Goodwin
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Brodie King
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Ali Dickinson
CREATIVE: Joaquin Olascoaga
CREATIVE: Bailey Alexandria
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Max Henderson
DESIGNER: Weronika Szklarek
STILLS ART DIRECTOR: Ollie Agius
SOCIAL GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Caroline Paris
PLANNING DIRECTOR: Ophelia Stimpson
PLANNER: Elena Georgiou
MANAGING PARTNER: Alice Flanagan
BUSINESS LEAD: Paul McHugh
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Leela McElroy, Sarah Covill
ACCOUNT MANAGER: James Hall, Simran Randhawa
CHIEF PRODUCTION OFFICER: Jess Ringshall
HEAD OF INTEGRATED PRODUCTION: Rachel Solomon
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jodie Sibson
AV AGENCY PRODUCER: Sarah Fry
STILLS AGENCY PRODUCER: Zaneta Stepien
SOCIAL AGENCY PRODUCER: Libby Cavenett
BUSINESS AFFAIRS: Liz Staley & Charlotte Fisher
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Emma Stigter
HERO & ENSEMBLE CASTING: Talent Republic
MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: Manning Gottlieb OMD
MEDIA PLANNER: Geraldine Ridgway, Jane Ridehalgh, Jack Willers
MEDIA BUYING: Andrew Matsoukis, Maddie Taylor-Wilson, Polly Mason, Emma Walters, Sefton Demetriou, Lakshay Bhatia, Jemma Wilkinson, Hannah Butler
AV PRODUCTION COMPANY: SMUGGLER
DIRECTOR: Lucy Forbes
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Benedict Spence
PROD CO EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Lucy Kelly
PROD CO PRODUCER AV: Claire Jones
PROD CO PRODUCER SOCIAL & STILLS: Sian Bourke
PROD CO PRODUCTION MANAGER: Ellie Sanders Wright
EDIT HOUSE: TenThree
EDITOR: Ellie Johnson
LEAD FOOD STYLIST: Susie Theodorou
AV POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Harbor
POST-PRODUCTION PRODUCER: Abi Klimaszewska
COLOURIST: Toby Tomkins
CREATIVE DIRECTOR VFX LEAD: Fergal Hendrick
VFX ARTIST – Jack Sheldrake / Joe Tang / Ahmed El Azma
AV SOUND STUDIO: 750MPH
SOUND ENGINEER: Sam Ashwell & Mike Bovill
HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Olivia Ray
SCORE: Soundtree
MUSIC: Wake The Town
TRACK: ‘Steal Away’ by Robbie Dupree
SOCIAL AV PRODUCTION: SMUGGLER
SOCIAL DIRECTOR: Chirolles Khalil
SOCIAL EDITORS: Chirolles Khalil & Marwan Elgamal
STILL PHOTOGRAPHY PRODUCTION & DESIGN STUDIO: Prodigious
PHOTOGRAPHER: Alex de Mora, Marcus Nillson
PRODUCERS STILLS: Brigette Martin & Rachel Wickham
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Mel Brown
1ST AD: Eddie Leaner
CAMERA ASST: Jed Barnes, Sam Lort, Ollie Patterson
DIGI OP: Alex Gale
RUNNER: Mikayah K-Samuels
LEAD FOOD STYLIST: Susie Theodorou
STILLS FOOD STYLIST: Sara De Lulio
PROPS STYLIST: Sophie Jacobs
PROPS ASSISTANT: Hela Dondertman & Beth Bilclife
STYLIST: Luke Giaduci
HMUA: Zara Tames
LOCATION MANAGER: Rupert Bowkett
LOCATION ASSISTANT: Mark George
HEAD OF DESIGN: James Crickmore
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER: Jemma Marriott
SENIOR DESIGNER: Natalie Alves
SENIOR MOTION DESIGNER: Aivaras Seduika
MOTION DESIGNER: Sally-Amy Ngwenya
HEAD OF RETOUCHING: Kirsten Howe
CREATIVE RETOUCHER: Gareth Ling
PROJECT DIRECTOR: Stephanie Wood
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER: Matt Parker
CREATIVE ARTWORKERS: Darren Rolf, Jennifer Bourne, and Katie Luong
CONNECT RETOUCHING: Post Machine
PRODUCER: Andrey Polezhayev
