Waitrose has unveiled The Perfect Gift 2, the sequel to last year’s festive romcom. This time love comes with a deadline, a love rival and a plan that has all the ingredients for disaster.
Keira Knightley is getting married at three o’clock. Unfortunately for Phil, she isn’t marrying him – the only thing standing between Keira and the wrong man is a beef Wellington. Can a romance first sparked over the Waitrose cheese counter win out, or is Phil about to eat a very large slice of humble pie?
Building on the success of last year’s campaign, Keira Knightley reprises her most personal role to date, herself, alongside Joe Wilkinson as Phil ‘Phil Phil’, the lovelorn everyman who won her heart last Christmas.
Joining them is Alex Hassell as Hugo Bunty-Griffin, a suave new love rival with impeccable tailoring and charm so cheesy it should come with crackers.
Keira Knightley has it all: the dress, the venue, the dashing groom. There’s just one catch. Hugo Bunty-Griffin is more in love with his own reflection than his bride-to-be, treating his own wedding as a photoshoot in which he’s the star and Keira is merely a supporting role. And the man who has the recipe to truly steal her heart is nowhere to be seen.
Across town, Phil is in full-blown heartbreak mode. His beard has reached tragic proportions, his dressing gown is now his entire wardrobe, and his only confidants are a pack of Waitrose No.1 Handmade Polar Bear Bao Buns.
But when all hope seems lost, his best friends arrive with Waitrose bags in hand, and a plan even bolder than last year’s: another homemade food creation. But this is no ordinary love story, so Phil sets about baking the beef Wellington of his life.
“Last year’s The Perfect Gift sparked a huge reaction, and our customers were clear: they wanted to know what happened next. So this Christmas we’ve given them a bigger, bolder sequel, with a love rival, a race against the clock and a beef Wellington as an unlikely hero. Every great romcom needs a moment where all seems lost, and ours just happens to be wrapped in pastry,” Waitrose chief customer officer Nathan Ansell said.
“Like last year we approached the edits as a film studio would, with trailers to hook you in and the full film available online to give this story the space it deserves. We significantly raised the creative and production stakes by extending the mini-film by two minutes, making it an ambitious six-minute cinematic romcom – the longest advert produced by a UK supermarket – while keeping our exceptional food credentials firmly at the narrative core. This is our way of giving audiences the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, and we hope it brings a smile, and a little inspiration, to homes across the country this Christmas.”
Knightley said that last year’s love story deserved another chapter.
“I absolutely loved the chance to revisit our relationship this Christmas, although I wasn’t expecting to find myself caught between two men and a beef Wellington! Making this short film has been so much fun. I hope it brings a little festive magic to everyone who watches it,” she said.
Creative & Media Credits
Waitrose
- Chief Customer Officer: Nathan Ansell
- Head of Advertising & Social: Sarah Hood
- Advertising Lead: Joanne Massey
- Senior Advertising Manager: Alia Ahmad
- Advertising Manager: Vinay Patel
- Senior Campaign Manager: James Ward
- Senior Social Media Manager: Emily Angliss
- Social Media Manager: Chloe Ball
- Creative Direction Lead: James Turner
MG OMD
- CEO: Kat Bozicevich
- Managing Director: David Bratt
- Chief Creative Officer: Tamara Cross
- Chief Client Development Officer: Geraldine Ridgway
- Client Partner: Lewis Young
- Client Business Director: Jane Ridehalgh
- Client Account Director: Megan Cupples
- Client Account Manager: Tom Warren
- Client Account Executive: Izzy Cherry
- Head of Planning: Flora Williams
- Strategy Business Director: Helen Brain
- Head of Media Creativity: Will Selwyn
- Partnerships Business Director: Maddie Taylor Wilson
- Partnerships Account Director: Polly Savva
Wonderhood Studios
- Founder & CEO: Alex Best
- Founder & CCO: Aidan McClure
- Managing Director: Sam Brown
- Head of Integrated Production: Natasha Johnson
- Executive Creative Director: Stacey Bird
- Executive Creative Director: Jack Croft
- Strategy Director: Charlotte O’Brien
- Strategist: Kit Thwaites
- Senior Creative & Writer: Jennifer Ashton
- Senior Creative & Writer: Oliver Short
- Creative – Product: Coel James
- Creative – Product: Chiara Piccirillo
- Lead Senior Producer: James Plaxton
- Senior Producer: Georgia Totvanian
- Senior Producer – Product Stills: Chris Battye
- Assistant Producer: Pericles Brierley
- Business Director: Tom Butler
- Account Director: Tara Lidstone
- Senior Account Manager: Minna Griffiths
- Senior Account Manager – Product Stills: James Tasker
- Account Manager: Hannah Chinyemba
Wonderhood Makers
- Co-founder & EP: Jo Lumb
- Co-founder & Managing Partner: Katie Hunter
- Senior Account Director: George Alleston
- Account Manager: Katie Luton
- Creative Director: Mandy Gould
- Senior Social Creative: Ella Banks
- Producer: Jake Parker
- Editor: Ben Infantion and Will Meighan
Wonderhood Design
- Head of Design: Simon Elvins
- Design Director: Tommy Spitters
- Designers – Brand: Ed Garland, Brianna Bartlett, Nancy Phillip, Joe Chakravorty, Lucja Wroblewska, Emma Gray
- Designers – Product: Lucja Wroblewska, Emma Gray
- Motion Designer: Tom Pounder
Photography
- Brand Photographer: Charlotte Rutherford
- Product Photographer: Matt Russell
Full Production Credits:
- Production Company & Country: Biscuit Filmworks, UK
- Director: Molly Manners
- Producer: Peter Knowles
- Founding Partner: Shawn Lacy
- Managing Director: Rupert Reynolds-MacLean
- Executive Producer: Hanna Bayatti
- Head of Production: Emily Atterton
- Production Manager: Ada Almeida
- Production Coordinator: Jess Glaus
- Production Assistant: Hannah Lockwood
- Production Assistant: Nessie Appleton-Smith
- 1st AD: Rawdon De Fresnes
- Director of Photography: Benedict Spence
- Production Designer: Fiona Crombie
- Casting Director: Hannah Birkett
- Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
- 1st Ad: Rawdon De Fresnes
- 2nd Ad: Isusko Garcia
- 1st Ac: Jim Mclean
- 2nd Ac: Evangeline Perkins
- Key Grip: Jake Lavan
- Gaffer: Greg Probert
- Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
- Stylist: Emma Rees
- Stylist Assistant: Naomi Golding
- Hair And Make Up Artist: Eve Coles
- Hair And Make Up Artist Assistant; Ashleigh Haines
Socials
- Socials Director: James Murray
- Socials Producer: Dalia Saeed
- Socials Production Assistant: Hannah Lockwood
- Socials 1ST AD: Spencer Wilson
- Socials DOP: Dylan Bruce
- Socials 1st AC: Justin Mcgillivray
- Socials 2nd AC: Tim Pakyar
- Socials Electrician: Jay Tesfamarieam
- Socials Electrician: Stan Garbett
- Socials Art Director: Katren Wood
- Socials Props Assistant: Coco Cardozo
- Socials Costume Designer: Gabrielle Edmunds and Amy Laverack
- Socials Hair And Make Up Artist: Courtney Reece-Scott
- Socials Casting Director: Hannah Birkett
- Socials Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
- Socials Food Stylist’s Assistant: Sophie Sibbald
- Socials Runner: Guy Lewis
Stills
- Stills Producer: Dalia Saeed
- Stills Photographer: Charlotte Rutherford
- Stills Movement Director: Simon Donnellon
- Stills Lighting Director: John Neate
- Stills Assistant: Bradley Polkinghorne and Jed Barnes
- Stills Digi Op: Alex Gale
- Stills Art Director: Katren Wood
- Socials Props Master: Louis Glickman
- Stills Props Assistant: Coco Cardozo
- Stills Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
- Stills Food Stylist’s Assistant: Sophie Sibbald
- Stills Runner: Guy Lewis
Glam team
- Keira Knightley:
- Stylist: Leith Clark
- Stylist Assistant: Florence Thompson, Tilly Wheating
- Seamstress: Serafina Kruegel-Hanna
- Makeup: Lisa Eldridge
- Makeup Assistant: Nilofar Mussa
- Manicurist: Sabrina Gayle
- Hair Stylist: Luke Hersheson
- Hair Assistant: Rogerio da Silva
- Joe Wilkinson & Alex Hassell:
- Groomer: Sam Coughlan
- Costume Designer: Emma Rees
Hero Casting: Talent Republic
- CEO & Founder: Anne Batz
- Business Director: Disha B.B
- Talent Partnerships Lead: Emily Curtis
Editing Company: Shift Post
- Editor – Brand Film: Saam Hodivala
- Editor – Product Films: Adam Buckmaster
- Editor – Social: Robert McGuire
- Executive Producer: Kirsty Oldfield
- Assistant Producer: Tallia Clarke
- Assistant Editor: Stanley Whitaker / Christina Hill
Post Studio: Time Based Arts
- Creative Director & VFX Supervisor: Sheldon Gardner
- 2D Lead: Ollie Ramsey
- 2D Artists: Hannah Wilk, Chris Fraser, Javier Leon, Elliot Donovan, Ria Shroff, Anthony Laranjo, Jasmine Cooper, Ralph Briscoe, Gavin Marler, Jamie Crofts, James Pratt, Pavel Rehak, Nithin Francis, Simon Melin, Stepan Pazderka
- 3D Artists: Ihor Obukhovskyi, Jake Thompson, Ashley West, Ian Baird
- DMP artists: Billy Stockwell, Barbara Pozzi
- Colourist: Simone Grattarola
- Socials Colourist: Tom Matthews
- Senior Producer: Matt Squires
- Producer: Mia Saunders
Audio Post-Production: Runamok
- Sound Design & Mix: Jon Clarke
- Socials Sound Design & Mix: Harry Butcher & Jonny Platt
- Executive Producer: Caroline Jemirifo
- Managing Director: Lucy Spong
Music (Sync track): Native
- Music Company: Native
- Music Supervisor: Dan Neale, Sophie Faricy
- Publisher: Sony
- Label: Sony
- Track Name: The Power of Love
- Artist: Jennifer Rush
Music (Composition): Holy Wax
- Music Company: Holy Wax
- Music Supervisor: Jeremy Newton
- Track Name: Project Chestnut
- Music Producer / Composer: Harry Lightfoot
