The Christmas Fool: Festive Ad Created by The&Partnership for Argos

A mischievous ‘fool’ determined to ruin Christmas stars in the eagerly awaited Argos Christmas advert. The ‘fool’ – a mischievous, impish creature with bells on its long ears – causes chaos about the house as anxious families desperately try to put the finishing touches to their Christmas preparations.

From breaking fairy lights and stealing sellotape, to unwrapping presents and knocking the angel from the top of the Christmas tree, the fool is determined to make as much mischief as possible.

Just as it seems the fool’s ruinous deeds will never end, an Argos Fast Track delivery driver comes to the rescue by giving the pesky creature a swift boot into his van where it lands amongst an army of its kind who have also been thwarted in their quest to ruin Christmas.

The message behind the 90-second ad is simple: with Click & Collect available at more than 1,000 locations, including 250 Argos stores and collection points inside Sainsbury’s stores, and same-day Fast Track home delivery, Argos is there for everyone’s shopping needs, helping to fool-proof Christmas.

Gary Kibble, Marketing Director at Argos, said: “Families across the UK work really hard to make their Christmas special, so when something doesn’t go to plan it feels as though there’s a mischievous force working against them. We created the fool as the cheeky embodiment of this frustration and the ad brings to life the tiny annoyances that can cause unnecessary festive chaos.

“Luckily for Brits faced with the fool, we have more than 1,000 stores and pick-up points and almost 1,000 delivery vans on the road so customers can get Christmas orders, such as fairy lights or the latest toy or tech gift, the same day whether they Click & Collect or get Fast Track delivery. We expect to deal with around 19 million orders in stores over Christmas, so we’re making Christmas truly fool-proof for British shoppers.”

Yan Elliott, Joint Executive Creative Director at The&Partnership London which created the ad, said: “Every Christmas, something goes wrong in the run-up to the big day – it’s inevitable. Our cheeky Christmas fool personifies that. We hope this mischief-filled advert helps ease the stress for families this year – reminding them that, whatever curveballs Christmas throws at them, Argos is on hand to save the day.”

 

Matt Deacon
Creative Team The&Partnership
 

 

Matt Deacon and Ben Fallows  were previously at TBWA/London, where they worked on #LidlSurprises, #LidlSchoolofChristmas and #ShopaLidlSmarter. The pair have picked up awards including Creative Circle’s Most Promising Newcomers, a D&AD Graphite Pencil “for stand-out work”, a Creative Circle Gold Press Award and a Campaign BIG Silver with their multichannel work for the retailer.

 

Give us an overview of the campaign, what is it about and what was your role in the creation?

The Christmas Fool is a metaphor for all the things that always end up going wrong at Christmas. Things like broken lights, missing scrabble pieces and pine needle covered carpets. Matt and I came up with this lovable rogue to show how Argos can ultimately save the day and fix all of your unfortunate Christmas mishaps.

 

Was the brief for this holiday campaign any different that than the usual? What challenges did that present?

Argos wanted an ad that fitted into their wider ‘You’re Good to Go’ campaign, which uses metaphors to show Argos solving everyday problems. It’s always tricky to find insights that the public can genuinely relate to and understand. Also there’s been so many brilliant ones in past Christmas ads it was definitely a challenge finding new ones.

 

What inspired you to approach the campaign this way?

I guess both Matt and I have witnessed things like this going wrong at Christmas first hand, so we wanted to make something that felt true to the reality. For that to happen it couldn’t be all emotional and lovey-dovey like normal Christmas ads – it had to be real.

 

What’s a “behind the scenes” story that only you know about?

Three people spent a whole day plucking pine needles from a Christmas tree with tweezers. If you’re reading this ... We’re sorry.

 

Are there any holiday ad tropes that you think should be retired by now?

Christmas ads should be banned until after Armistice day. (Yes our latest ad is guilty)

 

What is your favorite holiday campaign of all time?

Definitely ‘The Long Wait’ by John Lewis. It’s a classic.

  

 

What can we expect from your agency in 2019?

Big things from new and existing clients.

 

What do you think the advertising industry's New Year’s resolution should be?

Be funnier and stop trying to change the world with every campaign.