LOVE ACTUALLY FEATURES IN OLD NAVY’S LATEST CHRISTMAS ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
LICENSING MOVIE CLIPS FOR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
BACKGROUND:
Having launched a hugely successful Back To School campaign in August of 2020, Old Navy and their creative agency The Martin Agency were determined to follow up with an equally striking Christmas campaign. The summer campaign was a high-energy TV ad, full of vibrant colours and featuring Old Navy’s own take on Lizzo’s hit single, ‘Boys’. For the Christmas campaign, the key was to remain current by using popular culture references for wide appeal.
THE CALL TO BORN:
At Born Licensing, we’re the bridge between advertising and entertainment. Our ongoing work with both sides of the advertising game puts us in prime position to identify key trends and popular culture – and we were delighted when The Martin Agency reached out to us. Their idea was to develop a script featuring their own take on RuPaul’s Christmas song, ‘Hey Sis, It’s Christmas’. They needed to find a popular Christmas movie whose title would fit into the lyrics of the song, and which had a suitable clip to fit the mood and feel of the campaign.
WHERE BORN LICENSING ADDED VALUE:
The final chosen movie was the Christmas favourite, Love Actually. The movie title was incorporated into the lyrics of RuPaul’s hit song for the TV ad (‘… Strike a pose and make the dog stay/Normalise conference calls in our PJs/Our 18th time watchin’ Love Actual-lay!’). The TV ad also features a clip from the movie: the now iconic scene of Hugh Grant, as Prime Minister, dancing at No 10 Downing Street. As licensing agents for Universal Studios, the Rights Holders of Love Actually, we were able to leverage an already-strong relationship to ensure a smooth and speedy contractual and approval process.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT:
Upon receiving the script, we set about compiling a shortlist of suitable movies, using our relationships with Rights Holders to scope out the chances of the clip being approved. We put forward a number of selections that fit the (very specific!) brief, and as Old Navy and The Martin Agency began making their decisions, we began negotiating with Rights Holders should their movie be chosen.
THE LAUNCH:
The 30-second spot, ‘Jingle Jammies’, went live across US paid and free TV, cinema and online in October 2020, as part of Old Navy’s wider ‘Hey Sis, It’s Christmas’ campaign.
© 2003 Universal City Studios LLC. All Rights Reserved.
THE EXPERIENCE
Being brought into the creative process early on allowed us to guide Old Navy and The Martin Agency to movie selections that we knew we could gain approval for. Our relationships and contacts with Rights Holders across the world allow us to move fast and easily through the negotiation and approval processes, meaning campaigns can be delivered on time and on budget every time.
“Born Licensing is always at ready to help. Whether it be to brainstorm ideas that fulfil a brief, or to seamlessly facilitate negotiations and licensing, they make me feel that my project is their priority. I rely upon their expertise and I trust them explicitly and am thrilled to have them as a partner.”
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