Michael Bublé is known as the King of Christmas. It’s fast approaching the season when the Canadian singer’s rendition of Holly Jolly Christmas will become an inescapable earworm.
This year, Bublé has an extra job: the inaugural chief quality officer of British supermarket Asda.
He enters a boardroom and announces the latest flavor trends to Asda employees. He samples cheese, calls for “more bumph in the rise” of some panettones and approves of dress sequins that “really pop.”
A cheery Bublé is on the clock to help Asda demonstrate the quality of its products through its Christmas campaign. The singer had big shoes to fill as Asda’s holiday star, following last year’s ad with Buddy the Elf, the character played by Will Ferrell in the 2003 Christmas movie Elf.
Despite being known for his festive tunes, this is the first time that Bublé has appeared in a Christmas ad. He lends two of his hits to the campaign: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, which soundtracked the teaser film, and Winter Wonderland for the 90-second commercial.
To pull off the show, Asda and its agency Havas London paired Bublé with another creative heavy hitter: Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi, who directed the ad through production company Hungry Man.
Under Waititi’s direction, Bublé brings charm and wit to his role for Asda, helping the brand connect with customers emotionally in the same way they may have warmed to Buddy the Elf.
“[We asked] what could we keep [from last year’s campaign] that people loved and warmed the nation to us, and how could we evolve that this year?” said Stephi Brett-Lee, Asda’s senior director of marketing and communications.
Investing in quality
In the U.K.’s version of the Super Bowl–the Christmas ad season–Asda’s “Have Your Elf a Merry Christmas” proved to be one of the most popular spots last year. Market research firm System1, which measures people’s response to advertising, named Asda’s campaign the most effective Christmas ad of 2022.
