We’re all familiar with Father Christmas, the friendly man in the big red jacket that dishes out all the presents, but in this year’s Morrisons Christmas campaign the supermarket shines a light on the other, very real heroes that make Christmas possible; farmers. 

In its festive advertising campaign hero film, Morrisons enlists help from agency, Publicis•Poke to tell the tale of Farmer Christmas who works ‘all year round too’ to make sure that Christmas feasts can happen up and down the country. 

The film sees two young friends discovering the other hero of Christmas as they explore North Pole Farm, where the festive food is grown. The pair spot Farmer Christmas’ version of a sleigh and the ‘reindeers’ he needs to transport everything. They then sneak a look into his workshops where ‘magic helpers’ including butchers, bakers, fishmongers and florists are helping to prepare delicious treats such as freshly made panettones. At the end of their journey, the friends excitedly declare that “he’s been” as they spot a table full of food and sit down to enjoy the Christmas meal with their family and share their new secret.

Morrisons has chosen to hero farmers in its advert as a way of thanking them for all the work they do to help make Christmas special. The supermarket is British farming’s single biggest customer and the ad serves as part of ongoing support for British farmers, with other recent activity including the reduction of seasonal pork prices to help alleviate the pressures faced by pig farmers.  The supermarket also remains committed to only selling 100% fresh British meat and using British flour in its bakeries. Since the start of the pandemic, Morrisons has also offered its farmers a 5% discount to shop at its stores.  

“Christmas is magical, but it doesn’t just happen by magic, and in a year where the whole nation fell in love with the huge efforts British Farmers make every day bringing food to our tables, it seemed the perfect moment to celebrate our heroes of field and farm.” explained Dave Monk, Publicis•Poke Executive Creative Director, “with Farmer Christmas at the helm, this ad pays tribute to everyone who makes Christmas happen, from the food makers in Morrisons stores to every Christmas kitchen hero up and down Britain making sure that the presents on your table are just as special as the ones under the tree.”

The campaign also shines a light on Morrisons colleagues, featuring many in the advert and showcasing the food makers in its stores and manufacturing sites who enable the supermarket to make more than half the fresh food it sells.

“Farmer Christmas aims to celebrate and showcase all the hard work, skill and dedication that goes on behind the scenes to grow and make the food for Christmas throughout the year. From all the British farmers and growers we work with directly, to our 105,000 colleagues who are delivering, stocking, making and preparing fresh festive food, to bring our customers a Christmas feast for their table.” explained Rachel Eyre, Morrisons Chief Customer & Marketing Officer.

As part of the Christmas campaign and to help tackle loneliness within communities, Morrisons is also giving away over a quarter of a million free Christmas cards for children based on the advert to spread messages of hope during the festive season.

The ad was directed by Nick and the wider campaign will run across social media, radio, digital and include in-store activations, as well as posters featuring Morrisons counter colleagues as Farmer Christmas’ magic helpers.