While December is often painted as a time of joy and generosity, millions of animals are slaughtered to fill dinner tables. “Happy Christmassacre” invites viewers to pause and reflect on those traditions and make kinder, more conscious choices. The 2 minute hero film, with a 1 minute cut-down appearing in cinemas and on social media, begins like every other Christmas ad: golden lights, laughter, the perfect festive feast. In a darkly comic twist, the familiar scene morphs into a satirical horror, forcing viewers to confront the hidden violence behind their celebrations. OOH concepts, appearing on billboards and fly-postered across the Uk, continue the theme of a Christmas hijacked with macabre double takes. What appears to be the red and white colours of Santa’s suit, upon closer inspection, is revealed to be blood dripping down animal pelts. Each visual lands alongside a killer stat exposing that animal’s UK festive-season death toll.

Famously Effective

Grey has tapped into traditions and tropes of Christmas, using visuals and moments that are familiar to us all such as Father Christmas’s suit or the classic Christmas spread shot in any Christmas supermarket ad. These have then been turned their head to lay bare the death and cruelty lurking beneath our festive celebrations. The cinema ad could even be seen as a parody on classic Christmas ads that see families gather to feast at a table laden with a cornucopia of delicious food. Within this spot the collisions of difference continue; a comically inane script mimicking usual Christmas family chatter is juxtaposed to vibrant and unexpected blood spurts to form an unhinged and darkly comedic asset.