More Christmas romance from Waitrose in The Perfect Gift 2

Love is in the air again at Waitrose, as Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson return for The Perfect Gift 2, a festive romcom packed with romance, rivalry and a generous helping of Christmas chaos.

The six-minute film raises the bar for festive brand storytelling yet again, with the latest instalment officially the longest ad ever created by a UK supermarket.

Building on the positive response to last year’s campaign, The Perfect Gift 2 delivers Waitrose’s ‘Home of food lovers’ positioning, reinforcing its reputation as the ultimate food and drink destination for shoppers who are looking for high-quality ingredients, outstanding taste and a wide range of inspiring products and recipe ideas.

The work is part of a 360-degree Christmas campaign, with Omnicom Media agency, MG OMD, leading the media strategy, planning and buying to deliver a connected, full-funnel approach designed to build awareness, deepen engagement and bring the brand experience into customers’ everyday lives. 

Across paid, owned and earned channels, the campaign adopts the same tactics as marketing a movie, utilising long-form entertainment, trailers, cinema, radio, social content, OOH and retail touchpoints to extend the story and showcase Waitrose’s festive food credentials. Knightley reprises her role as herself, alongside Wilkinson as Phil ‘Phil Phil’, the lovelorn everyman who won her heart last Christmas. 

This time, however, there’s a new rival in the picture: Hugo Bunty-Griffin, played by Alex Hassell, a suave groom-to-be with charm to spare. With Keira seemingly destined for a life with Hugo, Phil is left heartbroken and in need of a grand gesture. Enter his best friends, a selection of Waitrose ingredients and a plan to win her back with a homemade beef Wellington. What follows is a festive race against the clock, with a few twists, a troublesome dog and one very pointed jar of sauce labelled “Marry Me Instead?”

More than a festive love story, The Perfect Gift 2 puts food at the heart of the action, showing how it can bring people together and help express what words sometimes can't.

From the No.1 Handmade Polar Bear Bao Buns to the beef Wellington at the centre of Phil’s grand gesture, Waitrose’s festive range sits at the heart of a story about love, generosity and connection—reinforcing the role of food in life’s most meaningful moments.

Nathan Ansell, Waitrose chief customer officer, said: "Building on the overwhelming customer demand and huge success of last year’s campaign, The Perfect Gift 2 represents a strategic evolution of our festive narrative, designed to drive deeper brand engagement and reinforce our Home of Food Lovers positioning. Last year demonstrated that emotional, entertainment-first storytelling effectively cuts through the festive noise, builds strong brand affinity, and creates genuine cultural momentum. With this ambitious sequel, our goal is to build on that connection, bring our story full circle, and give audiences a compelling reason to return."

"We significantly raised the creative and production stakes by extending the mini-film by two minutes, making it an ambitious six-minute cinematic romcom - the longest ad produced by a UK supermarket - while keeping our exceptional food credentials firmly at the narrative core."

Directed once again by Molly Manners, through Biscuit Filmworks, the film gives Phil’s increasingly desperate mission the full Hollywood treatment. A snow-dusted stately home, sweeping tracking shots, and an original score recorded by the world-renowned Prague Philharmonic Orchestra give the story cinematic ambition while keeping the focus firmly on the food and the emotions that surround it. Wonderhood Creatives, Jennifer Ashton and Oli Short, created the campaign, and Anne Batz and her team at Talent Republic orchestrated the partnership with Keira Knightley, Joe Wilkinson and Alex Hassell. 

The 60” and 30” trailers are narrated by Gary Martin, best known as the voice of the Honey Monster; the film closes with Jennifer Rush’s ‘The Power of Love’, reinforcing its central message: sometimes the best way to tell someone you love how you feel is through food. 

Molly Manners, Director, said: “It’s been an absolute joy to extend the Waitrose cinematic universe and wholeheartedly embrace the Rom and the Com this year. I love this team and this cast and am so excited to see the curveball of Alex Hassell as Phil’s love rival unleashed.”

Jack Croft and Stacey Bird, executive creative directors, Wonderhood Studios, said: “It’s been wonderful to return to our festive romcom this year. We always felt that Keira and Phil’s love story had more to give, and we hope the love, time and craft we’ve poured into this sequel has made it every bit as entertaining as the first film, if not more. And that’s really what this campaign is all about: giving audiences more. More story, more surprises, more laughs, more stunts, more extra content and, thankfully, more pastry.” 

Credits

Creative & Media Credits:
Waitrose
Chief Customer Officer: Nathan Ansell
Head of Advertising & Social: Sarah Hood
Advertising Lead: Joanne Massey
Senior Advertising Manager: Alia Ahmad
Advertising Manager: Vinay Patel
Senior Campaign Manager: James Ward
Senior Social Media Manager: Emily Angliss
Social Media Manager: Chloe Ball
Creative Direction Lead: James Turner
MG OMD
CEO: Kat Bozicevich
Managing Director: David Bratt
Chief Creative Officer: Tamara Cross
Chief Client Development Officer: Geraldine Ridgway
Client Partner: Lewis Young
Client Business Director: Jane Ridehalgh
Client Account Director: Megan Cupples
Client Account Manager: Tom Warren
Client Account Executive: Izzy Cherry
Head of Planning: Flora Williams
Strategy Business Director: Helen Brain
Head of Media Creativity: Will Selwyn
Partnerships Business Director: Maddie Taylor Wilson Partnerships Account Director: Polly Savva
Wonderhood Studios 
Founder & CEO: Alex Best
Founder & CCO: Aidan McClure
Managing Director: Sam Brown
Head of Integrated Production: Natasha Johnson
Executive Creative Director: Stacey Bird
Executive Creative Director: Jack Croft
Strategy Director: Charlotte O’Brien
Strategist: Kit Thwaites
Senior Creative & Writer: Jennifer Ashton
Senior Creative & Writer: Oliver Short
Creative - Product: Coel James
Creative - Product: Chiara Piccirillo
Lead Senior Producer: James Plaxton
Senior Producer: Georgia Totvanian
Senior Producer - Product Stills: Chris Battye
Assistant Producer: Pericles Brierley
Business Director: Tom Butler
Account Director: Tara Lidstone
Senior Account Manager: Minna Griffiths
Senior Account Manager - Product Stills: James Tasker
Account Manager: Hannah Chinyemba
Wonderhood Makers
Co-founder & EP: Jo Lumb
Co-founder & Managing Partner: Katie Hunter
Senior Account Director: George Alleston
Account Manager: Katie Luton
Creative Director: Mandy Gould
Senior Social Creative: Ella Banks
Producer: Jake Parker
Editor: Ben Infantion and Will Meighan
Wonderhood Design
Head of Design: Simon Elvins
Design Director: Tommy Spitters
Designers - Brand: Ed Garland, Brianna Bartlett, Nancy Phillip, Joe Chakravorty, Lucja Wroblewska, Emma Gray
Designers - Product: Lucja Wroblewska, Emma Gray
Motion Designer: Tom Pounder
Photography Brand Photographer: Charlotte Rutherford
Product Photographer: Matt Russell
Full Production Credits:
Production Company & Country: Biscuit Filmworks, UK
Director: Molly Manners
Producer: Peter Knowles
Founding Partner: Shawn Lacy
Managing Director: Rupert Reynolds-MacLean
Executive Producer: Hanna Bayatti
Head of Production: Emily Atterton
Production Manager: Ada Almeida
Production Coordinator: Jess Glaus
Production Assistant: Hannah Lockwood
Production Assistant: Nessie Appleton-Smith
1st AD: Rawdon De Fresnes
Director of Photography: Benedict Spence
Production Designer: Fiona Crombie
Casting Director: Hannah Birkett
Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
1st Ad: Rawdon De Fresnes
2nd Ad: Isusko Garcia
1st Ac: Jim Mclean
2nd Ac: Evangeline Perkins
Key Grip: Jake Lavan
Gaffer: Greg Probert
Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
Stylist: Emma Rees
Stylist Assistant: Naomi Golding
Hair And Make Up Artist: Eve Coles
Hair And Make Up Artist Assistant: Ashleigh Haines
Socials
Socials Director: James Murray
Socials Producer: Dalia Saeed
Socials Production Assistant: Hannah Lockwood
Socials 1ST AD: Spencer Wilson
Socials DOP: Dylan Bruce
Socials 1st AC: Justin McGillivray
Socials 2nd AC: Tim Pakyar
Socials Electrician: Jay Tesfamarieam
Socials Electrician: Stan Garbett
Socials Art Director: Katren Wood
Socials Props Assistant: Coco Cardozo
Socials Costume Designer: Gabrielle Edmunds and Amy Laverack Socials Hair And Make Up Artist: Courtney Reece-Scott
Socials Casting Director: Hannah Birkett
Socials Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
Socials Food Stylist’s Assistant: Sophie Sibbald
Socials Runner: Guy Lewis
Stills
Stills Producer: Dalia Saeed
Stills Photographer: Charlotte Rutherford
Stills Movement Director: Simon Donnellon
Stills Lighting Director: John Neate
Stills Assistant: Bradley Polkinghorne and Jed Barnes
Stills Digi Op: Alex Gale
Stills Art Director: Katren Wood
Socials Props Master: Louis Glickman
Stills Props Assistant: Coco Cardozo
Stills Food Stylist: Fergal Connolly
Stills Food Stylist’s Assistant: Sophie Sibbald
Stills Runner: Guy Lewis
Glam Team:
Keira Knightley:
Stylist: Leith Clark
Stylist Assistant: Florence Thompson, Tilly Wheating
Seamstress: Serafina Kruegel-Hanna
Makeup: Lisa Eldridge
Makeup Assistant: Nilofar Mussa
Manicurist: Sabrina Gayle
Hair Stylist: Luke Hersheson
Hair Assistant: Rogerio da Silva
Joe Wilkinson & Alex Hassell:
Groomer: Sam Coughlan
Costume Designer: Emma Rees
Hero Casting: Talent Republic
CEO & Founder: Anne Batz
Business Director: Disha B.B
Talent Partnerships Lead: Emily Curtis
Editing Company: Shift Post
Editor – Brand Film: Saam Hodivala
Editor – Product Films: Adam Buckmaster
Editor - Social: Robert McGuire
Executive Producer: Kirsty Oldfield
Assistant Producer: Tallia Clarke
Assistant Editor: Stanley Whitaker / Christina Hill
Post Studio: Time Based Arts
Creative Director & VFX Supervisor: Sheldon Gardner
2D Lead: Ollie Ramsey
2D Artists: Hannah Wilk, Chris Fraser, Javier Leon, Elliot Donovan, Ria Shroff, Anthony Laranjo, Jasmine Cooper, Ralph Briscoe, Gavin Marler, Jamie Crofts, James Pratt, Pavel Rehak, Nithin Francis, Simon Melin, Stepan Pazderka
3D Artists: Ihor Obukhovskyi, Jake Thompson, Ashley West, Ian Baird
DMP artists: Billy Stockwell, Barbara Pozzi
Colourist: Simone Grattarola
Socials Colourist: Tom Matthews
Senior Producer: Matt Squires
Producer: Mia Saunders
Audio Post-Production: Runamok
Sound Design & Mix: Jon Clarke
Socials Sound Design & Mix: Harry Butcher & Jonny Platt
Executive Producer: Caroline Jemirifo
Managing Director: Lucy Spong
Music (Sync track ): Native
Music Company: Native
Music Supervisor: Dan Neale, Sophie Faricy
Publisher: Sony
Label: Sony
Track Name: The Power of Love
Artist: Jennifer Rush
Music (Composition): Holy Wax
Music Company: Holy Wax
Music Supervisor: Jeremy Newton
Track Name: Project Chestnut
Music Producer / Composer: Harry Lightfoot