Waitrose has released The Perfect Gift 2, bringing Keira Knightly and Joe Wilkinson back for a Christmas advert sequel that leans on romance, comedy and festive food. Molly Manners directs the campaign, which extends the Waitrose Cinematic Universe rather than treating this as a one-off seasonal spot.
Near 20-second kitchen smooch sits at the centre of the film, with Knightly and Wilkinson sharing the kind of comic-romantic beat that gives the sequel its shape. Jennifer Rush’s The Power of Love drives the work, while Waitrose’s beef wellington takes the stage alongside Knightly lusting over a piece of smoked salmon on a rye cracker.
Molly Manners and One Day
Molly Manners brings the sequel together after her work on Netflix’s One Day, and that pairing matters because the campaign is built less like a product reel and more like a compact romcom. Waitrose is weaving its produce into a cinematic world it created, with Rivals’ Alex Hassell also appearing in the work.
For viewers of Waitrose, that means the brand is doubling down on continuity: the film does not reset the story, it adds to it. A product film also places Phil and Keira on Christmas Day, turning the food message into part of the narrative rather than a separate sales pitch.
Social films in coming weeks
The coming weeks bring the next piece of the campaign, with social work set to roll out after a lucky few saw it at the premiere screening. Those films answer audience questions about why they broke up and what it was like behind the scenes, which gives the sequel a second life beyond the main advert.
That is the practical shift for Waitrose: the Christmas push is being built as a sequence, not a single launch. Readers who only catch the hero film will miss the extra material that fills in the relationship story and keeps the campaign moving after the premiere.
For a retailer, that is the smarter play. The main advert gives the season its hook, while the social rollout keeps Knightly, Wilkinson and the wider Waitrose Cinematic Universe in circulation long enough for the campaign to do its job.
