The hook: what the first three seconds do
The opening does not try to win with spectacle. It drops you into a long Australian summer Christmas lunch and sits close to a small human moment before any product appears. That decision makes the campaign’s promise feel observed, not invented: the first three seconds are about recognition, not noise.
Instead of snow, a sleigh or a countdown, Myer leads with warmth and specificity. The tagline, Say More with Myer, is allowed to land after the feeling has already started.
The structure of the film
The film is built as a loop of noticing. A granddaughter paints her grandmother’s lips red. Two boys refuse to let go of their teddy bears. A daughter tries on her mum’s sunglasses. Each small moment reappears as a beautifully wrapped Myer gift with a handwritten note that explains why the gift matters.
By turning behaviour into a gift rationale, Myer makes the product the proof of attention. The campaign is running in 30 and 15 second versions, so the idea compresses cleanly without losing the emotional thread.
Myer Creative Director Kristen Hancock developed the campaign in-house with support from Howatson+Company.
Why it spread
The share trigger is simple: people see their own family in it. Amanda McVay, Chief Customer Officer, framed the insight this way: the gifts people remember are not always the biggest or the most expensive. They are the ones that show someone was paying attention.
That message travels because it is highly quotable and universal. The film also avoids Northern Hemisphere Christmas clichés and treats an Australian summer lunch as the setting, which makes the local audience feel seen.
The spread is not just a film story. Myer connected the idea to retail through Giftorium, in-store personalisation, charity products and a full seasonal visual system by Melbourne artist Alice Oehr. The campaign runs across TV, digital video, outdoor, social, radio, online, major Sydney and Melbourne train stations and a Christmas takeover of myer.com.au.
The numbers, only where the source gives them
Myer is not selling this one on view counts; the source reports the spend and footprint instead.
- 30 and 15 second films
- 3 flagship Giftorium stores for the first time
- Almost 9,000 square metres across Melbourne, Sydney and Perth
- 12 gift themes, including 3 new destinations
- 5% of Myer Community Fund sales donated to The Salvation Army
Giftorium also rolls out nationally and online from Sunday 18 October.
Steal this: three moves for a smaller brand
- Write the note before you film the ad. Give each hero product a “Because…” line. If a product cannot carry a reason for being given, it probably should not be in the campaign.
- Run one idea through every touchpoint. Myer extends the story from screen to gift wrap, bags, cards and store uniforms. A smaller brand can do the same with a landing page, an unboxing insert and one seasonal visual identity.
- Use a local artist as a repeatable system. Alice Oehr’s illustrations make the campaign feel hand-made and cohesive. Commission one illustrator for the whole season instead of buying scattered stock imagery.
Watch the original: Myer on YouTube
Source: Campaign Brief
