Boots is hoping to make shoppers smile, but also build on their new platform on the lead-up to the critical Christmas period.
Its 2026 Christmas campaign, For Gifts They’ll Really Love, is designed to be a playful exaggeration of a familiar truth – the best gifts don’t end at Christmas, they become part of the everyday.
It positions Boots as a destination for gifts people will use and love long after the festive decorations come down.
Charlotte Lock, chief marketing officer at Boots, said: “Boots has long played a special role in Christmas gifting, but we want to keep surprising people and give them new reasons to choose us. We want to redefine what people expect from Boots at Christmas and be the destination for the gifts people genuinely want to receive, with incredible brands, brilliant choice and exceptional value whatever your budget.
“The best gifting is about really knowing someone. When we get it right, the excitement lasts far beyond Christmas morning – it becomes the gift they use constantly, talk about and wonder how they ever lived without.
“Our new ‘Give it Some Boots’ brand platform is about showing up with more confidence, energy and personality. It’s a bolder and more contemporary expression of Boots, designed to make everything we do feel distinctive, memorable and unmistakably ours.”
Directed by Phoebe Arstein at Biscuit Filmworks, the advert pairs humour with familiar Christmas moments to bring the campaign to life. It is accompanied by an unexpected, modern reimagining of the classic carol, Shepherd of the Bells, giving the film a fresh and distinctive feel.
Shot in the UK, the advert will air for the first time on 04 November on Boots digital media channels, the launch features a 60-second film TVC alongside the retailer’s first-ever 20-second TVC edits, anchored by a multi-channel TV roadblock on 06 November, reaching six million people over launch weekend.
Simon Lloyd, deputy chief creative officer EMEA at VML, added: “Christmas gave us the biggest possible stage to show what the new ‘Give it Some Boots’ platform really means. Instead of following the conventions of Christmas advertising, we wanted to turn up the things that only Boots can really own – incredible beauty products, the thrill of discovery and the very human obsession that happens when you find something you absolutely love, all with our fresh energy, style and attitude.
“This allowed us to be braver, from the comedic script down to the deliberate music choice. This isn’t simply a new Christmas campaign; it’s the next statement of intent for Boots and the kind of work we want Boots to become known for.”
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