M&C Saatchi Abel celebrates an African Christmas with Bakers biscuits

Christmas is peak selling time for Bakers, and it’s at this time that the brand makes its much-loved 1kg and 2kg Bakers Choice Assorted boxes available. Briefed to boost sales of these boxes, M&C Saatchi Abel played on the insight that in South Africa, Christmas isn’t about sleds and snowflakes – rather, it’s a time when many people travel home to celebrate the season with their family. Given that this time of year is all about sharing, arriving home empty-handed is taboo.

The agency created a firm association between Bakers and a South African Christmas, while linking the brand with generosity, by telling the story of a little girl, Thuli, taking a bus back home with her father. When we are first introduced to the family, Thuli sits with a box of Bakers on her lap, radiating pride and excitement. Unable to contain her special Christmas spirit, she can’t stop herself from offering biscuits to everyone around her – which undoubtedly helps to spread the joy but, at the same time, means that there are no biscuits left by the time they arrive at the house. Fortunately, her dad is well prepared; he has another box of biscuits hidden in his bag.

The ad, which was directed by Amy Allais and produced by Deenan Naidoo for Ola! Films, entrenches the sentiment that Christmas isn’t Christmas without Bakers. Says Conan Green, Creative Director at M&C Saatchi Abel, “It’s rare that an ad and an insight are so tightly woven together. I think that we’ve created an ad that every South African family will connect with.”