Sky : Cinema celebrates family movie traditions as it launches its Christmas TV ad

Sky Cinema premieres its 2017 Christmas campaign today with a heart-warming TV advert, available to view exclusively through the official Sky Cinema Facebook page ahead of its national television premiere on 8 November. Click here to view the advert.

Prime viewing spots also include ad breaks during coverage of England's friendly with Germany on Friday 10 November, during The X Factor on Saturday 11 November and on the opening episode of the new series of I'm A Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here! on 19 November.

Built around the iconic The Sound of Music, one of the first films to be broadcast on Sky in 1989, the advert tells the moving story of a mother and daughter and the Christmases they spend together over the course of 25 years. Starting from the wide-eyed wonder of a four-year-old watching the film for the first time, the advert takes viewers on a touching journey through the years of teenage awkwardness and a gap year spent travelling, before finally revealing the daughter as a mother herself, beginning a new cycle of Christmas movie traditions.

The advert stars Maimie McCoy (Grantchester, DCI Banks and The Musketeers) as the mother, and sisters Billie (4 years old), Dolly (7 years old) and Beau (10 years old) Gadsdon as the daughter, two of which - Dolly and Beau - featured in 2016 hit Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - available on Sky Cinema this Christmas.

The set of the ad recreates a family home and, with the use of over 700 props, depicts the changing décor, tech and hairstyles of the last three decades. Shot on film to evoke the sense of time passing, in over 200 hours in September, a lack of winter snow is countered with the use of over 15 kilos of icing sugar for that truly Christmas effect.

Written by WCRS creatives Alicia Job and Jessica Watson, and directed by Ben Liam Jones at Strange Love Productions, the advert features an original arrangement by Jonathan Goldstein of the famous 'Favourite Things' from The Sound of Music.

Sky Cinema will be the home of Christmas this year with some of 2017's biggest films including the UK TV premiere of Disney's stunning Beauty and the Beast (2017), a new premiere every day, over 1000 movies available On Demand, as well as three dedicated channels: Sky Cinema Christmas, Sky Cinema Classics and Sky Cinema Musicals - all available to Sky Cinema customers at no extra cost.

The 60 second Sky Cinema Christmas TV advert is one of three that will air throughout November and December. The second ad stays with the mother and daughter and focuses on a letter to Santa, drawing inspiration from the wide array of Christmas classics available through the dedicated Sky Cinema Christmas channel.

The final ad will take audiences through the doors of a themed advent calendar, providing a glimpse at some of the new premieres available on Sky Cinema throughout the festive season including Boss Baby, The Lego Batman Movie, Kong: Skull Island, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 and Oscar-nominated Hidden Figures.

Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Cinema, said:'The Sky Cinema Christmas campaign taps into the emotional connection we all have with our favourite movies at Christmas. Everyone has a Christmas tradition and watching the same film year on year is something many will identify with. Sky Cinema has one of its best ever line-ups this Christmas with a new premiere every day, including the year's biggest blockbuster Beauty and the Beast on Christmas Day, plus three dedicated channels Sky Cinema Christmas, Sky Cinema Classics and Sky Cinema Musicals available throughout the festive season.'

Luke Bradley-Jones, Chief Marketing Officer of Sky UK, commented:'The Sky Cinema Christmas campaign really highlights the huge role movies can play in bringing people together at Christmas. I always loved sitting down to watch BIG and it's a tradition I've carried on with my own kids. The TV ad captures the essence of what Christmas is all about, and is part of a much broader campaign that we're sure will appeal to movie fans, both young and old.'

Leon Jaume, Executive Creative Director at WCRS, said:'A huge amount of skill and craft has gone into this little gem, but what I love most about it is that it comes from the hearts of Alicia and Jess, who wrote it based on their own Christmas rituals with their mothers.'

Collating the best of both new and classic content, available On Demand in HD and UHD, Sky Cinema is the UK and Ireland's leading in-home movies service and customers can look forward to more dedicated channels and the best new movies in 2018.

Sky Cinema is available for just £10 per month to Sky customers*, and is also available On Demand** and via NOW TV.

Notes to editors

*Sky Cinema £10 for 18 months: For new and existing Sky TV customers joining Sky Cinema. New 18-month contracts and further terms apply.

**Over 1000 movies on demand:Requires Sky Cinema Bundle, compatible box connected to broadband (min 2Mbps) for Sky TV customers

For more information contact:

Sky Cinema PR - 02070321445 / skycinema@feverpr.com

Follow us on twitter @SkyCinemaUK and join the conversation at facebook.com/SkyCinemaUK

WCRS - Alex Gluck: 0203 128 6120 / alex.gluck@wcrs.com

Sky Cinema Christmas TV advertising campaign

Full credits:

Client: Sky Cinema

Marketing Director: Carli Farmer

Head of Marketing: Rachael Halliday

Senior Marketing Manager: Sara Thomas

Marketing Executive: Louise Kelly

Agency: WCRS

Executive Creative Director: Leon Jaume

Creative Directors: Simon Robinson

Creatives: Alicia Job, Jessica Watson

Agency Producers: Bradley Woodus, Nosisa Majuqwana

Account Handling: Ed Norrington, Richard Williams, Kya Boon

Planning: James Stevens, Adele Aitchison

Media Agency: Mediacom

Production Company: Strange Love

Director: Ben Liam Jones

Producer: Jason Lovelock

Production Manager: Katie Keith

Editors: Whitehouse

Editor: Elena De Palma

Sound Studio: Grand Central Recording Studios

Sound Design: Tom Pugh

Post-Production: Absolute Post

Colourist: Matt Turner

Director Ben Liam-Jones biography:

Ben Liam-Jones' career started by being named the Best New Director at the Shots Awards 2012 for 'It Follows Me Around', a spot he wrote and directed for ChildLine. The advert went on to win 2 Gold Arrows at the British Arrows, a Cannes Lion and led to him being included in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase. In Spring 2016 he helped launch StrangeLove, a new London based production company born out of Passion Pictures. Since then he has become known for his emotive brand of storytelling making commercials with StrangeLove for Sky, Arthritis UK, Center Parcs and KFC's 50thAnniversary campaign to name a few.

The Sky Cinema Christmas Advent calendar advert was created by Sky Creative.

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 22.5 million customers across seven countries - UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The company has annual revenues of £12.9 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with annual programming spend of over £6 billion.

From exclusive partnerships with HBO and Showtime, to Sky Original Productions, Sky offers the best and broadest range of content along with the best viewing experience to suit each and every customer. Whether that's through the multi-award winning next generation box, Sky Q, or Sky's contract-free online streaming service, NOW TV, customers have access to the latest movies, drama, sports and kids entertainment wherever and whenever they like. This is all supported by Sky's best in class customer service.

Sky's success is not just based on what the company does but how it does it. Named as one of the Top 10 Green Companies in the World by Newsweek, one of the world's most recognised rankings of business's environmental performance, Sky ensures its responsible business strategy is embedded right across the group. Sky has over 31,000 employees and is listed as one of The Times Top 50 employers for women. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

About WCRS

WCRS is a creative agency, combining over 35 years of brand building expertise with the ability to execute ideas in any channel. The agency's focus is to create work people care about. In whatever form that takes. Developing ideas everywhere from TV to Twitter, online to mobile, games to music downloads. To find out more about WCRS, visit www.wcrs.com. WCRS is part of Engine, the UK's largest and fastest growing independent communications company, with office locations including London, New York, San Francisco and Shanghai. www.theenginegroup.com