Matt Gay on Cooking Up a Storm at Christmas with Waitrose

What was the brief with which (the client) approached you? 

A Christmas campaign that conveyed the qualities and values of the brand - that uncompromisingly good quality food brings people together at Christmas.

And what inspired your idea for this film? 

I have always loved the classic Stella commercials (like Reassuringly Expensive below) – wonderfully told stories that have the product right at the heart. I wanted to write a story where the Waitrose food was the hero, rather than writing a nice story where the product was tagged on at the end. Waitrose sell the best food, so it’s the perfect fit for the most important meal of the year.

How would you describe the tone of the film and why did you decide to opt for this direction?

I wanted to tell a tale that would raise a smile whilst still encapsulating the feeling of Christmas. That’s one of the reasons why I opted for black and white – I think it gives the film a wonderful Christmas feeling. I also wanted the story to exist in the real world and be believable. I wasn’t aware that there were pubs that had been snowed in until after I had written the script, so that was a real bonus.

Tell me about the production process – how long did the shoot take and where was it filmed? 

The film was shot over five days in various locations on the Yorkshire Dales. The exterior is the Tan Hill Inn which is the highest pub in Britain at 1732ft and has been snowed in 50 times in the last 15 years. I was thrilled that Martin De Thurah agreed to shoot the commercial – he has the ability to make even the most mundane objects look beautiful and interesting. We had a live set in the pub where the camera roamed freely for sometimes as long as 10 minutes, which meant we were able to capture real and authentic moments. 

Did you encounter any challenges on set and if so, how did you overcome them? 

Ironically the only challenge was the weather! On one of the days we were held up because it was too sunny. The sun was causing harsh shadows which can cause problems in creating the snow in post.

In the past few years, Christmas ads have become a phenomenon in themselves. How did you deal with this sort of pressure; did it help to spur you on and inspire you or did you find it distracting? 

There is definitely an element of pressure. I wrote The Long Wait Christmas commercial for John Lewis (below) and last year’s Coming Home spot for Waitrose, so I knew what to expect. Lots of people are going to see and comment on the work, and it will be all over social media and in the papers. It’s an amazing opportunity, so we use that pressure to push ourselves and make sure the work is as good as it can be. Thankfully we had an amazing director, an incredible team at Mill and the guys at 750 and Trim to help make that happen.