Born Licensing secures the license of the BFG for Sainsbury’s Christmas campaign
THE BFG STARS IN SAINSBURY’S PHIZZ-WHIZZING BIG CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN
Sainsbury’s and their creative agency New Commercial Arts wanted to go BIG for their 2024 Christmas campaign. It was important they use a character that encapsulates the festive magic of the season and dreamy feelings, whilst also appealing to the whole country. Even though the BFG is not your typical Christmas character, it’s undeniable that he’s part of a timeless and cherished story which was the perfect match for the whimsical culinary adventure Sainsbury’s wanted to tell with their ad.
After teasing a giant footprint on the 30th November, the BFG was confirmed as the one to make Sainsbury’s 2024 Christmas “a bit more… phizz-whizzing!” when the hero spot premiered on Friday 1st November to UK audiences. The campaign was broadcasted on TV, cinema, socials and radio, and also includes a cutdown for Comic Relief.
BEHIND THE SCENES: THE MAKING OF…
New Commercial Arts, Rogue Films (the production company) and Final Cut (the post-production company) worked together with us and the Roald Dahl Story Company to create a new version of the BFG that closely resembled the character from the original book. The campaign was shot in locations around the UK at the end of August using a stand-in model for the BFG, and the actual character as seen in the final spot was created entirely in post-production. A representative from Born Licensing attended the shoot to ensure they were across any real-time developments. The result was a beautiful and heart-warming Big Friendly Giant that brought to life the beloved magic of Dahl’s story.
BORN LICENSING MANAGED THE ENTIRE LICENSING PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH
As we are Roald Dahl Story Company’s licensing agents for advertising and marketing campaigns, we had the right relationship to secure the license. This was crucial in the process, as the project was post-production heavy and the schedule to achieve this had very tight deadlines. After negotiating the commercial terms, Born Licensing managed all other aspects of the licensing in collaboration with RDSC including the extensive creative approvals process during pre- and post-production.
David Born, Founder and CEO of Born Licensing, comments, “Christmas is the most competitive period for British advertisers and licensing a generationally adored character like the BFG is a sure fire way to capture attention. This is a brilliant example of how powerful advertising can be when combining cherished IP with brilliant creative.”
Creating a brand new version of the BFG was very exciting, but also required a lot of resources to make sure all parties were satisfied with the result. With a campaign as big as this, once the deal has been agreed the work is only just getting started. To ensure the campaign would stay true to the character and the brand, all campaign material had to be submitted to the Roald Dah Story Company for review. This process was managed by Amber Cheung and Alberto Massaro at Born Licensing, who had to ensure submissions were being made efficiently due to the tight timings.
CAMPAIGN RESULTS
During its first week after launch, the campaign received very positive feedback and industry recognition, including:
'Ad of the Week' - MAA
'Ad of the Week' - Shots
'Ad of the Day' - Campaign
READ MORE ABOUT OUR WORK WITH THE BFG
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