For Affinity Shopping Centres, we created a distinctive Christmas TV campaign that ran successfully for four consecutive years, evolving and improving with each iteration.
Rather than following the familiar route of filming shoppers moving through the centre, we developed a fully 3D animated “Santa’s workshop” world, complete with conveyor belts carrying beautifully wrapped presents — each one representing a brand available in-store. The idea was simple but powerful: when people choose a shopping destination, what they really want to know is which brands are there.
The result was a colourful, playful and instantly recognisable advert that stood out in a crowded Christmas advertising environment. Audience feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with viewers describing the advert as fun, memorable and festive — and, crucially, it drove real-world results.
Remarkably, footfall increased in 2021, despite the ongoing impact of Covid. Customers even referenced the advert directly in Trustpilot reviews, an unusual but powerful indicator of brand recall and emotional connection.
One of the strengths of this campaign was its longevity. While the core concept remained consistent, we refined and enhanced the animation every year, improving lighting, materials and rendering quality as technology and workflows advanced.
This allowed the campaign to stay fresh while retaining strong brand recognition — a key reason it continued to perform year after year. The evolving visuals also reflected improvements in in-store branding and seasonal theming, ensuring the advert always felt current rather than recycled.
We produced tailored versions of the advert for Affinity Devon, Affinity Staffordshire and Sterling Mills. While the animation remained consistent, each version featured bespoke colour palettes and branding to reflect the individual character of each centre and align with their local marketing.
The campaign ran primarily on Sky AdSmart, making full use of its localised targeting capabilities to reach shoppers within specific catchment areas. For Staffordshire, the campaign was further supported with YouTube advertising, extending reach while maintaining strong creative consistency across platforms.
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