To position itself as a credible player in high street fashion, this Christmas, George has used its festive advert to promote inclusion whilst celebrating the holiday season.

‘Tis the season to slay it’ is George at ASDA’s first standalone Christmas party wear campaign, celebrating New York Ball Culture; a loud and proud counter-cultural phenomenon rooted in necessity and defiance.

In the campaign’s hero film, created by Impero, audiences see the lead character enter a traditional British pub at Christmas. Knowing how society sometimes receives gender non-conforming and trans people, they are visibly worried about revealing the sparkling outfit they are wearing. 

The film’s soundtrack then kicks in and the lead’s inner confidence comes through, pushing fear of judgment and discomfort aside, they dance their way into the pub changing the whole atmosphere to one of complete inclusivity and celebration. The creative ends with the campaign message; ‘Tis the season to slay it’

“Almost half of LGBTQ+ people still feel they cannot bring their authentic selves’ home for the holidays. In schools, only 20% of secondary students learn about LGBTQ+ identities and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.'' Adam McCann, Chief Executive at Diversity Role Models, says “There remains a huge opportunity to encourage young people to celebrate differences and include everyone, to avoid the psychological effects from bullying and isolation. We’re proud to partner on this campaign because it puts joy at the heart of embracing who you are and encourages everyone to be themselves.”

In 2021, George donated £100,000 to Diversity Roles Models to help support them end LGTBQ+ bullying in schools. Impero has built on this by partnering with Diversity Role Models to feature them in the campaign itself. 

“It was of paramount importance to stay authentic to the scene: to celebrate it and bring it to a wider audience, so we worked with people who were part of, or supporters of the scene.” explained Emily Winterbourne, Managing Director of Impero, “The director, producer, choreographer, the lead and supporting dancers, the musician and more. All were fully brought into the story right from the start.”

With 44% of LGBTQ+ people feeling like they cannot go home for the holidays as their “true selves' ', Impero and George wanted to highlight the power of empathy, empowerment and confidence; key factors in combating the issue.

“After the last 18 months we knew a lot of brands would be portraying the perfect family gathering, but for some of our customers Christmas time can be overwhelming and that’s why we thought it was important to celebrate the festive period in a totally inclusive way – letting our customers feel empowered to show up at the table as the very best version of themselves.” said Claudia Solano, Head of Creative at George.

The campaign also features a TikTok challenge, encouraging users to strut and reveal their most glamorous Christmas outfits. George invites participants to explore their femininity through clothes and to be celebrated not judged for it.

This campaign extends a feeling of joy across all its touch points including its outdoor  executions,  paid social, as well as dedicated influencer campaign featuring a range of creators strutting and posing in their glittering George Christmas party wear.