In the 2014 campaign "12 Miles of Christmas," Partners Andrews Aldridge sought to demonstrate the agency’s creativity and social commitment by orchestrating London’s largest ever Christmas card in support of St Mungo’s Broadway, a charity aiding the homeless. The campaign’s core proposition communicated a blend of ingenuity, endurance, and community engagement, positioning the agency as both socially responsible and innovative. By transforming a charitable effort into a dynamic, real-world narrative, the campaign underscored the agency’s ability to combine strategic thinking with tangible action that resonates beyond traditional advertising.
The market strategy leveraged a compelling insight into the urban environment and social challenges faced by London’s homeless population during winter. By physically running a curated 12-mile relay through the very streets where St Mungo’s Broadway operates, the agency created an authentic connection between their work and the issue at hand. This narrative approach combined digital storytelling tools—such as Go Pros, GPS tracking, and the Strava app—to create a live, visual mapping of the campaign’s progress, making the act of giving physically visible and engaging for the audience. The campaign’s targeting was twofold: internally positioning Partners Andrews Aldridge as a socially conscious and innovative agency within the competitive media and advertising industry, and externally appealing to a socially aware public through a meaningful cause. The inclusion of invitations to donate and links to follow the run further integrated call-to-action elements that sought to engage viewers beyond passive consumption. Overall, the campaign used a creative, experiential approach to build credibility and demonstrate the agency’s strategic capabilities while supporting a relevant social issue.
FORMAT#5 EXEMPLARY STORY — Tells a story where the product plays a vital role in the plot or resolution.
This campaign fits FORMAT#5 because it centers on a narrative: agency staff undertake a 12-mile relay, using tech (Go Pros, GPS, Strava) to create London’s largest Christmas card in support of St Mungo’s Broadway. The agency’s action is depicted as a purposeful journey, mirroring the organization’s mission to help the homeless. The creative execution is story-driven—the staff’s efforts (the protagonists), the relay action (the rising arc), and the formation of the card (resolution)—with the agency’s ingenuity and community spirit effectively woven into the plot as both protagonist and solution. There’s no explicit demonstration, problem-solution, exaggeration, symbolic visual device, or testimonial. Instead, the campaign revolves around a real-time, plot-focused event, decisively resolved by the brand’s creative challenge.
ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats
1. Wieden+Kennedy London – Renowned for bold, culturally relevant storytelling, Wieden+Kennedy combines creativity with social impact in its self-promo campaigns, leveraging high-profile brand partnerships to showcase innovative digital narratives.
2. BBH London – Positioned as a forward-thinking agency, BBH emphasizes disruptive, idea-driven campaigns with strong strategic foundations, frequently highlighting unique brand stories that blend tradition with modern digital execution.
3. Saatchi & Saatchi London – Known for emotionally compelling narratives, Saatchi & Saatchi focuses on creating purpose-driven creative work that connects audiences deeply, reinforced by strategic insight and powerful visual storytelling.
4. AKQA – Specializing in digital innovation, AKQA differentiates itself through cutting-edge technology integration and interactive self-promo campaigns that merge creativity with user experience, often with a focus on social causes.
5. Ogilvy UK – Ogilvy combines strategic brand-building with creative impact, positioning itself as a leader in integrated storytelling that supports client brand values through engaging digital and social campaigns with measurable outcomes.
Q: What is 12 Miles of Christmas about?
A: 12 Miles of Christmas is a 2014 digital campaign created by Partners Andrews Aldridge in the United Kingdom, designed as an agency self-promotion while supporting St Mungo’s Broadway, a charity aiding the homeless. The central creative idea involved twelve agency staff running a 12-mile relay through London, using Go Pros, GPS devices, and the Strava app to map their route and create what they called London’s biggest ever Christmas card. The campaign was both a demonstration of the agency’s creativity and a call to action for donations, blending real-world endurance with digital storytelling to raise awareness for homelessness during the winter months.
Q: What creative device does 12 Miles of Christmas use?
A: 12 Miles of Christmas employs the Exemplary Story format, classified as FORMAT#5 in Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy. This approach centers on a narrative structure where the agency’s staff become protagonists in a purposeful journey, using technology and teamwork to create a live, map-based Christmas card. The campaign’s story arc follows the runners’ relay, culminating in the visual resolution of the mapped card, with the agency’s ingenuity and social commitment woven into the plot. The creative device is story-driven, focusing on real-time action and resolution rather than demonstration, testimonial, or symbolic visuals.
Q: What is the campaign proposition for 12 Miles of Christmas?
A: The campaign proposition for 12 Miles of Christmas positions Partners Andrews Aldridge as a creatively ambitious and socially responsible agency, blending ingenuity, endurance, and community engagement. By orchestrating London’s largest Christmas card through a 12-mile relay in support of St Mungo’s Broadway, the agency communicates its commitment to real-world impact and purposeful creativity. The campaign targets both industry peers and a socially aware public, demonstrating the agency’s ability to combine strategic thinking with tangible action that resonates beyond traditional advertising, while inviting viewers to contribute to a relevant social cause.
Q: How does 12 Miles of Christmas rank in Clapboard's archive?
A: 12 Miles of Christmas holds a Clapboard Campaign Score of 63/100 in Clapboard’s global ad archive. This score reflects the campaign’s creative ambition, the quality of its execution, and its cultural relevance within the context of agency self-promotion and social good initiatives.
Q: Who are the competitors in Partners Andrews Aldridge's category?
A: In the competitive landscape of agency self-promotion and creative advertising, Partners Andrews Aldridge operates alongside agencies such as Wieden+Kennedy London, known for culturally resonant storytelling with social impact; BBH London, which emphasizes disruptive, idea-driven campaigns with strong strategic foundations; Saatchi & Saatchi London, recognized for emotionally compelling, purpose-driven narratives; AKQA, specializing in digital innovation and interactive campaigns focused on user experience and social causes; and Ogilvy UK, which combines strategic brand-building with integrated digital storytelling to support client values and measurable outcomes.
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