John Lewis’s Christmas advert may have left viewers cold, but its sister brand Waitrose looks ready to rescue the festive campaign season with a very British hero: beef Wellington.
The pastry-covered centrepiece shares top billing with Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson, who return to the characters they played in last year’s advert. Wilkinson portrayed Phil, a lonely widower who encountered Knightley at the cheese counter of his local Waitrose.
Called The Perfect Gift, the original campaign ended with his Wellington landing at her feet. Its popularity with shoppers prompted Waitrose to make a six-minute sequel this year.
And what a sequel it is. Forget Casablanca: few stories pull at the heartstrings quite like an A-list actress falling for an ordinary man.
After a year of waiting to discover what happened next, will Keira finally get her happy ending? Could this be the Christmas when Phil wins the woman he loves?
The advert opens with Knightley wearing a wedding dress. But who is the man waiting at the altar? Enter Hugo Bunty Griffin, played by Alex Hassell in full Rivals mode as the swaggering Rupert Campbell-Black.
Before viewers have time to process the surprise, the unlikely pair are exchanging vows at the altar.
The vicar asks Hassell whether he intends “to honour and remain faithful”.
Wedding bells: Keira Knightley returns for this year’s Waitrose Christmas advert
A romantic rival: Alex Hassell’s Hugo Bunty Griffin appears to have won Keira’s heart
The beef is back: Joe Wilkinson reprises his role as widower Phil, determined to win Keira back
Even the relish jar carries a plea for Keira to return to her true love
“I’ll give it a go. Perhaps. No. Deffo,” he replies with a mischievous wink.
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But just as the vicar is about to pronounce them husband and wife, Phil bursts in, clutching a homemade beef Wellington.
It seems that marrying an A-list celebrity may not be such an impossible dream after all. Unfortunately for Phil, the plan quickly turns into pie in the aisle when the groom’s best men wrestle him to the ground. His Wellington lands neatly at Keira’s feet, accompanied by a homemade jar of relish labelled “Marry Me Instead”.
Thrown out of the wedding, Phil trudges home heartbroken, convinced he cannot compete with his handsome rival. Yet no romantic comedy would be complete without a happy ending.
The story ends with Keira in Phil’s kitchen, wearing a striped John Lewis apron over her wedding dress as she lovingly prepares him a cheese plate.
As Jennifer Rush’s 1984 power ballad The Power of Love swells on the soundtrack, the couple finally kiss.
The advert is cheesier than a Waitrose deli counter, but when it comes to winning Christmas, The Perfect Gift 2 looks set to challenge Marks & Spencer.
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Although the campaigns take different approaches, their similarities are hard to miss. Both borrow from familiar festive films: M&S’s storyline is loosely inspired by Elf, while Waitrose takes its cues from Love, Actually.
Both also feature popular television personalities essentially reprising recognisable roles. Lucy Punch channels Amanda from the BBC sitcom Amandaland, while Alex Hassell brings back the swagger of Rupert Campbell-Black.
Even beards play a part in both storylines.
Directed by Bafta winner Molly Manners, the Waitrose advert packs in all the ingredients of a festive favourite: a love triangle, a car chase and cameo appearances from This Morning presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
The star ingredient, naturally, is food. Even in the age of Ozempic, the advert cheerfully insists that the way to a woman’s heart may still be through her stomach.