Case Study: Manchester City creates a magical Christmas campaign with Absolute

Manchester City brings City Wonderland to life with Absolute in 2018

Absolute was engaged by Manchester City, a top Premier League football club, which sought a fresh and memorable way to promote its Christmas merchandise. The challenge was to move away from previous themes and create a campaign with a more traditional, magical winter feeling that would resonate with fans.

The Absolute team developed the "City Wonderland" concept, inspired by a classic Christmas song. They collaborated with artist Helen Musselwhite to create intricate, hand-crafted paper illustrations, including a large-scale set for a photoshoot with players and smaller assets for marketing materials. The solution involved brand campaign development and both location and studio photography. The resulting assets were used across promotional posters, digital channels, and point-of-sale items, with the large set being repurposed to decorate the club's stadium store, creating a festive look for the campaign.

Manchester City