Paul Smith and Walmart Christmas campaigns show Walton Goggins’ versatility

From Walmart's whimsical reinvention to Paul Smith's sophisticated London chic, actor Walton Goggins has become one of 2025's most versatile creative ambassadors.

Walton Goggins has had quite the 2025, shooting to new levels of fame thanks to a haunting turn in HBO's excellent season three of ‘The White Lotus’ and The Ghoul in Amazon's ‘Fallout’ adaptation.

He quickly became the face of several major advertising campaigns thanks to his ability to bridge storytelling with brand authenticity. Few would’ve foreseen him in Christmas campaigns for companies as diverse as Paul Smith and Walmart, but given his range, it shouldn’t come as a surprise either.

When Walmart launched its ambitious ‘Who Knew?’ campaign in June 2025, the retail giant the brand was seeking a tonal shift with ‘credibility and charisma’. The campaign, developed by a creative consortium within Publicis Groupe that includes Leo Burnett NY, Fallon, Digitas, and Contender, represents Walmart's most ambitious rebrand effort in years.

The core creative concept is to challenge consumer perceptions about what Walmart offers.

Rather than focusing on the traditional discount-retail narrative, the campaign taps into The Who's 1978 rock anthem ‘Who Are You’, switching up the refrain to "Who knew?" as Goggins and supporting actors showcase its diverse product catalogue.

The commercial series features Goggins in a series of surreal vignettes. In one scene, he's relaxing in a sauna he purchased from the retailer. In another, he's preparing for a Bigfoot hunting expedition, complete with bear spray.

The absurdist energy continues in the latest seasonal outing ‘WhoKnewVille’, which takes inspiration from Dr. Seuss' ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’, reimagining Whoville as a retail paradise. The town features characteristic whacky Seuss architecture and residents sporting the franchise's trademark swirly, colourful hair.

The narrative centres on a character named Mindy Lou Who grappling with holiday gift-buying chaos, solved through Walmart’s expanded app functionality.

A friend of Paul Smith

Goggins has simultaneously anchored a completely different kind of campaign, trading kitsch for editorial sophistication. Paul Smith's autumn/holiday 2025 campaign, ’Night to Day’ positions Goggins in London's luxury fashion world, underpinned, in this case, by the somewhat whimsical concept of "Betwixtmas": the period between Christmas and New Year. 

Described as "a longtime friend of both the brand and Sir Paul Smith personally," Goggins pretty much nails the core ‘Paul Smith character’. British photographer Samuel Bradley, who has previously worked with Burberry, Gucci, Hermès, and Jo Malone, follows Goggins as he poses in locations including the London theatre district.

What marries both Walmart and Paul Smith’s campaigns is Goggins’ self-aware humour, slightly unpredictable personality, and his brand versatility. We take our Dr Seuss hats off to his year-round appeal.