FUN-LOVING FURRY YETIS SPOTTED IN THE UK AS THE NATION GETS SET FOR YULETIDE
- Commuters stunned as gift-laden yetis – measuring up to eight feet tall – speed through the streets
- Spottings mark the launch of Argos’ ‘Christmas Yetis’ TV ad as it’s revealed a sixth of Brits are looking forward to the festive season more this year than ever before
- The yetis took over three months to create and are animated by skating and ice hockey pros
London, Friday 4th November 2016: Three fully animated yetis have been spotted skating at speed through the streets of London, fast tracking much-needed festive cheer and gifts to unsuspecting passers-by.
The high-octane scenes on a cold November morning mark the launch of the ‘Christmas Yetis’ campaign from Argos. As the battle of the Christmas TV adverts begins and festive lights start to twinkle, the leading digital retailer will unveil its spectacular Christmas advert tonight. Featuring five neon yetis, the advert shows these friendly creatures hurtling through the streets of a snowy town on ice skates, delivering Christmas gifts at extraordinary speed.
Whilst the nation has enjoyed moments such as the Olympics, another Great British Bake Off and The Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations, one fifth of Brits feel that 2016 has been a slightly turbulent year. Stating reasons such as the loss of celebrity icons (18 per cent), political uncertainty (16 per cent), Brexit (31 per cent in Scotland and 30 per cent in London) and the US Presidential Election (14 per cent), the random acts of (furry) kindness from the legendarily elusive creatures were a welcome antidote for the public.
As a result, it seems Christmas couldn’t come sooner, with almost one in five (19 per cent) of us believing Christmas will be the perfect distraction from the bleakness of 2016, and a sixth (16 per cent) looking forward to it more this year than ever before.
And to counter this, Argos has sent its Christmas yetis out onto the streets of the UK to kick-start the festive feeling. Each measuring up to eight feet tall, the friendly gift-giving yetis became the centre of attention at several locations across the country, including the festive ice rink at the Natural History Museum, Millennium Bridge, Westminster Bridge and the City of London, with more spottings expected across the country in the coming weeks. Pro skaters animated the speedy yetis from the inside, including George Southall, who is recognised as one of the best amateur freestyle skaters in the UK and professional ice hockey player, Kevin McGlynn.
The yeti gift giving is set to continue with the retailer calling on people to get into the spirit and snap a picture of themselves with the in-store yetis or wearing a downloadable yeti mask, available from the Argos website. By sharing it on Twitter using #ArgosYelfie, they can be in with a chance of receiving a festive surprise.
The ‘Christmas Yetis’ advert is a whirlwind of speed, adrenaline and excitement. Based on the folklore that yetis move twice as fast (35 – 40 miles per hour) as the average human (15 miles per hour) and even quicker than the fastest human foot speed on record (Usain Bolt 100m, 2009, 27.8 miles per hour), the Argos yetis leap and carve round corners like lightning on their skates. They collect, play with and deliver Argos’ top products as they go. The super fast yetis reflect the market-leading speed of Argos’ Same Day Fast Track Delivery and Fast Track Collection services. Set against an exclusive adaptation by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra of “What’s This?”, the advert is designed to create a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation through the festive season.
A team of award-winning special effects experts from Animated Extras built the hyper-realistic yetis (each costing £30,000) over a period of three months at the world-famous Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England. The team included pros who have previously worked on Hollywood films and British TV shows, including James Bond, Avengers, Cinderella, Jupiter Ascending, Into the Woods and Cloud Atlas. Pro skaters were used to animate the yetis in the advert, including Peter Hallam, the twice British Figure Skating Champion and holder of five international Gold medals at the Senior British Figure Skating Championships.
Stephen Vowles, marketing director at Argos, said: “Our yeti advert is designed to capture the spirit of excitement and anticipation surrounding Christmas. Fun loving and friendly, these larger-than-life, quick as a flash yetis colourfully bring to life the role that Argos hopes to play in the Christmases of families nationwide – and the skill, speed and precision that make us market leaders, with our super-speedy, same day Fast Track Delivery and Fast Track Collection services. Given the year Britain has had, we hope our loveable yetis bring enjoyment to thousands of British households this December – reminding us of the joyous, fun-filled experience the festive season should be.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
For more information please contact the team at W Communications:
Tel: 0207 436 8113
Email: [email protected]
Alternatively, please contact the Argos Press Office on 0845 120 4365 or email: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter at @argos_PR.
Argos now offers same day delivery and faster in-store collection with Fast Track.
You can now buy online and get your order delivered the same day for £3.95, 7 days a week, with Fast Track Delivery. You can also buy online and collect from our dedicated Fast Track counters in-store.
About Sainsbury’s Argos
Sainsbury’s Argos is a leading UK digital retailer and sells more than 60,000 products under the Argos and Habitat brands. It sells through www.argos.co.uk, www.habitat.co.uk, its growing mobile channels, its 845 stores and over the telephone. Argos Digital Stores and Mini Habitats can also be found in Sainsbury's supermarkets.
Argos is the UK’s largest high street retailer online and the second most visited website, with nearly a billion website visits a year. More than half of the company's sales originate online and around 120 million customer transactions take place in its stores each year. Argos offers customers market leading delivery and collection services, including Check & Reserve, Fast Track Delivery and Fast Track Collection which make customers' lives easier, every day.
Sainsbury's Argos is part of J Sainsbury plc, a leading retailer of food, clothing and general merchandise and owner of Sainsbury's Bank. Sainsbury's commitment to helping customers live well for less has been at the heart of what the company does since 1869. J Sainsbury plc employs 195,000 colleagues across the UK and Ireland whose strong culture and values are integral to driving its success - now and in the future. Our vision is to be the most trusted retailer where people love to work and shop.
CHI&Partners is a UK-based advertising agency. Founded in 2001, the agency is listed in the Sunday Times’ Top Track 250 and International Track 200 as the UK’s fastest-growing privately-owned ad agency both within the UK and internationally, and was this year named the UK’s most awarded independent creative agency at Cannes Lions.
CHI&Partners has offices spanning New York, Canada and Asia as well as Europe – working with large domestic and international clients including Argos, British Gas, Carphone Warehouse, Diageo, GSK, Lexus, News UK, Royal Bank of Scotland, Samsung, TalkTalk and Travelodge. CHI&Partners is a partner in The&Partnership.
The&Partnership is an independent agency holding company where the majority owners are the founders and partners of the individual businesses, sharing one bottom line. A cross-discipline communications group built for today’s complex industry landscape, The&Partnership comprises ten businesses spanning four continents, with 1,500 staff. The group houses agencies specialising in advertising, design, CRM, media planning and buying, data analytics, PR, content and social – with digital at the core of all its businesses.
The&Partnership is backed by WPP, the world’s largest communications agency network, which is both a partner and a significant minority shareholder.
‘Christmas Yetis’ – Credits
Brand: Argos
Agency: CHI&Partners
ECD: Micky Tudor
Creative Director: Jim Bolton
Creatives: Ben Da Costa, Duncan Brooks, Sarah Levitt
Planners: Rebecca Munds & Josh Roth
Producer: Adam Henderson
Business Director: Gary Simmons
Account Director: Stephanie Leonard
Account Manager: Nathan Brocklesby
Production Company: Caviar
Director: Henry Scholfield
Producer: Giles Skillicorn
Photographer / Director of Photography: Jallo Faber
Costume: Animated Extras
Editor: James Rose, Cut & Run
Post-Production: Electric Theatre Collective
Producer: Sian Jenkins
VFX Supervisors: Yourick Van Impe
ECD: Micky Tudor, Jonathan Burley
Post Supervisor on Shoot: Angus Wilson
Audio: Sam Robson, 750mph
Music Company: Wake The Town
Voiceover: Miquita Oliver
Media Agency: Mindshare
Social Media Agency: AllTogetherNow
PR Agency: W Communications