Fortnum & Mason has revealed its new Christmas campaign, created by London studio Otherway in collaboration with BAFTA-winning animation house Studio AKA. Titled A Fantastical Christmas, the work builds on last year’s festive direction, but focuses firmly on the brand’s historic home at 181 Piccadilly.
The campaign continues Fortnum’s partnership with Berlin-based illustrator Olaf Hajek, whose hand-painted characters are closely associated with the brand’s Christmas identity. This time, characters take viewers on a unique tour of the building, going behind the scenes to reveal the craft, care and seasonal rituals that go into Fortnum’s products.
In the 30-second Hero film, the animated cast goes through a sequence of short vignettes: adding fizz to champagne, wrapping the famous gift boxes, preparing tea, and finally, assembling a barrier that leads out of the building in the closing shot. The moment also nods to Fortnum’s newly unveiled double helix staircase, which opened last month, as a sweeping architectural centerpiece.
The animation blends CG product rendering with 2D textures that mimic the tactile, paper-like quality of Hajek’s illustrations, giving the film a stop-frame warmth reminiscent of childhood TV specials. “This year we’ve created a more ambitious campaign that aims to bring audiences under the magic of 181 Piccadilly,” says animation director Marcus Armitage.
As well as the film, the campaign runs across OOH, using Hero Hajek’s illustrations and snapshot moments from Fortnum’s Celebration series. Crispin Butler, director of marketing and communications at Fortnum & Mason, explains how the work represents a delightful continuation of the brand’s seasonal storytelling.
She says: “For the longest time, Fortnum & Mason has been at the center of the best Christmas stories, and this year we are proud to unveil a delightful new chapter with Olaf’s distinctive illustrations and our iconic 181 Piccadilly store at the center of the storytelling.”
Ben Levin, design partner at Otherway, says expanding the on-pack narrative into a fully animated world felt like a natural next step. “After two years of reimagining Christmas packaging, it has been extraordinary to bring the stories on-pack in this second collaboration with Olaf – uniting craft and creativity.”
The campaign is now live across Fortnum & Mason’s festive touchpoints and will run throughout the Christmas period.
