The launch
Coles has kicked off its 2026 Christmas platform, “Take the Credit This Christmas,” created by Smith St, a bespoke Omnicom Oceania agency. The hero film comes from production company FINCH and director Freddy Mandy, and the campaign is rolling out across paid, owned and earned channels. Creative has been tailored to different audiences, formats and moments through the Christmas period.
- Brand: Coles
- Agency: Smith St
- Production company: FINCH
- Director: Freddy Mandy
- Music: Buster Poindexter’s “Zat You, Santa Claus”
The work positions Coles’ Own Brand festive range as helpful but not the centre of attention.
What the film says and how
The hero film is built on a relatable insight: many Australians would rather spend time with family than hours in the kitchen. So the film shows people going to increasingly elaborate lengths to keep their shortcuts under wraps—intercepting delivery drivers before they reach the front door, and concealing packaging evidence before guests arrive.
The soundtrack sets the tone: Buster Poindexter’s mischievous take on “Zat You, Santa Claus.” The humour comes from the pleasure of getting away with it, not from a joke about the food itself. Coles deliberately takes a back seat, letting the host take the credit while the Own Brand range does the quiet work behind the scenes.
What the brand and agency say about it
Kate Bailey, General Manager Brand & Marketing at Coles, said the campaign reflects that people want “less time stressing in the kitchen and more time with the people who matter most.” She added: “Our Own Brand festive range helps make that possible, delivering quality and convenience without compromise. We love that this campaign celebrates those little moments of festive ingenuity that so many Australians can relate to.”
Smith St executive creative director Giles Watson said the agency wanted to capture “a special kind of joy in getting away with something.” He added that brands usually compete to tell the warmest festive story. “We saw an opportunity to go in a different direction and create a campaign built on a more relatable truth. People love looking good, especially when they’ve found an easier way to do it.”
The category context
Christmas advertising is crowded with emotional storytelling, and Coles is taking a different route. Instead of warmth, the campaign uses cheeky humour to sell the Own Brand range as a social win. That matters for a retailer trying to make private label feel like an upgrade rather than a compromise during the season’s most expensive grocery moment. The campaign platform is designed to connect brand storytelling with retail across paid, owned and earned channels.
What to watch next
Watch how the “take the credit” idea stretches across different placements between now and Christmas. The agency built the creative to travel, so the test will be whether a comedy platform can hold up across a full retail season—and whether the own-brand range actually converts the attention into basket size.
Watch the original: Coles on YouTube
Source: Campaign Brief
