Just when you thought 2025 Christmas ads were all a bit meh, Wonderhood might just have restored our faith in the genre. This four-minute romance makes the unlikely pairing of actress Keira Knightley (reprising her Love Actually character) and comedian Joe Wilkinson, fresh from his stint on Celebrity Traitors, in a romcom where love blossoms at the cheese counter in Waitrose.
The unlikely duo bond over food. They actually cook as well, sparing us the usual piles of packaged canapés and ready-made dinners that populate too many Christmas ads. The HFSS restrictions are not all bad.
Wonderhood pursues the romcom theme in the broader campaign, with “movie trailers” running in programmes like Gogglebox and Coronation Street as well as across social, and movie-style posters for OOH. Short product films featuring the same actors are also part of the package, and they will both appear (separately) on episodes of the Waitrose Dish podcast.
Keira Knightley said: “I love food, and so when I received this script where I get to fall head over heels in love over a shared love of cheese, I couldn’t turn it down! I adored working on this silly, fun and delicious film with Joe and I hope those watching it fall in love too.”
Joe Wilkinson, who also starred in last year’s Whodunnit campaign for Waitrose last year, adds, “It was great to be back with Waitrose for their 2025 Christmas campaign. This year, Phil got to enjoy both the love and the food he truly deserved. As you can imagine, it was tough having to eat the delicious Waitrose food and falling in love with Keira, but I just got on with it, like the trooper I am!”
Waitrose, like pretty much every other brand this year, has jumped on a 90s soundtrack, although they’ve ditched the dance floor for the more ponderous She’s a star by indie band James. Directed by Molly Manners of Netflix romcom One Day fame.
The strategy might be a little overblown: to reposition Waitrose from being just another supermarket to a full-fledged “food entertainment brand,” but the result is pretty good. It even has the blessing of Love Actually writer and director Richard Curtis.
MAA creative scale: 9
