Flamingos Deliver a Sparkling Christmas in Joyful Campaign from Very

Very has unveiled an exciting new brand platform – ‘Let’s Make It Sparkle’ – via a joyful, humorous Christmas campaign that positions the digital retailer and its customers as vibrant, pink flamingos and encourages us to transform everyday experiences into something wonderful.

The new creative platform and Christmas campaign, developed by The Gate, bring to life Very’s revitalised brand strategy; ‘there’s good, and there’s Very good’. The retailer’s Christmas TV ad, which airs for the first time today (Wednesday, 1 November 2023), opens with a dull cityscape, where grey pigeons and pink flamingos are dutifully Christmas shopping. However, this everyday activity is about to be transformed into something magical.

For the first time, viewers are introduced to Very’s new brand characters; fun, flamboyant flamingos called Kerry, Terry and Cherry. Pink thunderclouds roll in against a backdrop of a remastered version of Girls Aloud’s ‘Merry Christmas, Everybody’, and the pigeons are left awestruck by a team of pink delivery flamingos who are gracefully carrying Very parcels. As the parcels are delivered, Kerry, Terry and Cherry’s homes erupt into enormous clouds of magical pink glitter. 

Audience research shows Very customers share a particular approach to life. Despite external pressures and uncertainties, they want to make life as good as it can be – using ingenuity, individuality and creativity to make life bigger and brighter for themselves and their families. They are unapologetically loud and proud about living life to the full.

'Let’s Make It Sparkle’ taps into Very customers’ mindset, their vibrancy, zest for life, fun and a touch of glamour. Grounded in audience insight, the new brand platform is built to deliver success over the short and long term. Following their debut in the Christmas ad, the fabulous flamingos will continue to infuse the brand with rich personality and excitement to drive brand love and recognition. 

Very partnered with System1 Group to test the creative in line with the marketing and brand consultancy’s key principles of fame, feeling and fluency. System1 Group’s research revealed that the new brand proposition delivered above industry benchmarks, resonated powerfully and created an emotional connection with Very’s family-focused target audience, delivering strong brand recognition. 

Very appointed The Gate as its lead creative partner in June 2023, with the agency’s rich customer knowledge, exceptional strategic thinking and distinctive creative idea standing out during the competitive pitch process. The new brand proposition has subsequently been developed to bring Very’s multi-category digital retail and flexible payments offers together under one platform, which will now fuel the entire marketing ecosystem.

Very’s Christmas campaign will run nationwide across TV, cinema, VOD, OOH, digital and social media. The animation and characters were designed and produced by Nexus studios, directed by Paloma Baeza. Media planning and buying was handled by Dentsu. 

Jessica Myers, chief marketing officer at Very, said: “We know Very customers are as imaginative and enthusiastic about everyday moments as they are about Christmas, and we want to celebrate and enable that sense of joy and fun all year round as part of our commitment to our purpose; helping families get more out of life. ‘Let’s Make It Sparkle’ brings that spirit to life brilliantly, and we’re so excited for the opportunities this new creative platform will open up in 2024 and beyond.”

Lucas Peon, chief creative officer at The Gate, said, "It's been brilliant to see the platform and script we pitched with brought to life over the past few months, and to finally introduce our feathery friends to the world. We’re excited to see the magic unfold’’.