large gifts, a boy with a telescope and a girl with a toy car, while an older man looked on wistfully. The ad featured a soundtrack by a young singer-songwriter named Ellie Goulding, and was an instant hit. The following year, adam&eve produced “The Long Wait”, and the rest is history.
Priest’s agency went on to create some of the most iconic Christmas ads of the decade, including the Monty the Penguin campaign and the Man on the Moon. In 2012, adam&eve merged with DDB, creating adam&eveDDB, and Priest became the global chief creative officer.
But as the decade drew to a close, Priest began to feel the pressure. The arms race had reached a fever pitch, with each year’s Christmas ad expected to be bigger, better, and more emotionally resonant than the last. The budgets were astronomical, the stakes sky-high. And Priest, who had always prided himself on his ability to connect with consumers on an emotional level, was starting to feel the strain.
In 2020, after ten years at the helm of John Lewis’s Christmas campaigns, Priest made the decision to step down. He left the agency he had co-founded and took a sabbatical, travelling the world and reflecting on his career.
But the Christmas ad industry waits for no one. In his absence, a new generation of creative minds has emerged, eager to make their mark on the most lucrative advertising season of the year. And Emma Bisley, with her sights set on winning Christmas for Sainsbury’s once again, is at the forefront of this new wave.
As the meeting at New Commercial Arts drew to a close, Bisley knew she had found her winning idea. The BFG would be the star of Sainsbury’s 2024 Christmas campaign, bringing joy and magic to screens across the country. She could already see the headlines, the social media buzz, the sales figures climbing.
And as she left the agency, mince pie crumbs still on her lips, she couldn’t help but smile. Christmas was hers to win once again. And this year, she was determined to make it the best one yet.