Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh Stars in Boots Christmas Ad

Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh takes charge of Christmas in Boots’ holiday ad, which continues the British retailer’s big beauty expansion. 

Andoh, known for playing the character Lady Danbury in Netflix series Bridgerton, assumes the role of Mrs. Claus in a magical Christmas workshop (or “werkshop”) where elves prepare gifts for beauty enthusiasts around the world. 

The ad, “The Christmas Makeover,” shows Mrs. Claus running the workshop with confidence, ease, and a little sass, solving gifting crises like a bow shortage. At the end of the film, she turns to the camera and wryly says, “You thought it was all him?” 

The festive campaign from Boots, the U.K.’s largest pharmacy chain and a subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance, comes as the retailer grows its beauty business, adding 55 new beauty brands in the last year including Supergoop!, Made by Mitchell, and Prada Beauty. After launching its largest beauty campaign in September, Boots saw new customers buying from its beauty offering grow by nearly 7% within the quarter. 

Beauty remains the focus in its Christmas ad, as the retailer competes with social channels like TikTok that are shaping consumer trends and driving beauty sales, chief marketing officer Pete Markey told ADWEEK.

“So many brands are launching and coming to life through channels like TikTok, but Boots wouldn’t have historically been seen as the first place people would find those newer products,” Markey said. “We’re not synonymous with newer beauty brands, but this is our moment to get that across.”

This is also Boots’ most influencer and creator-led Christmas campaign, according to Markey. Along with Andoh, the ad features two beauty influencers, @soph and @snatchedbywill, who help Mrs. Claus as her trusted “elf-fluencers.”

A push to target men and gamers

For the first time, Boots will directly target men in the lead-up to Christmas through podcasts, social media, YouTube, and creator content. Over the last year, the retailer has “brought more men into our business” through programs like its health partnership with media owner Sky, said Markey. 

The program encouraged men to talk about their health conditions and featured soccer players like Ollie Watkins and Jordan Pickford. Phase one reached more than 32 million people, 80% of which were men. 

So for Markey, targeting men through its holiday campaign “felt like the natural next step.”

“They’re key gifters at Christmas,” he said.