Shaun the Sheep stars in Barbour festive campaign to highlight repair services

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 3, 2023

​Barbour previously made an impact with its Paddington Bear Christmas ad link-up and it clearly sees animation as a winning formula. This year, animation specialist Aardman’s Shaun The Sheep is its campaign star.

It comes in a season when cute animations are key for a number of major name Christmas ads. But there’s also a sustainability message at the heart of this campaign.

Barbour’s new seasonal stop motion film, directed by Steve Harding Hill, “brings Barbour to life” on Mossy Bottom Farm. 

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The heritage outerwear company and Aardman said the results is “funny, thoughtful and full of joy”, following the adventures of Shaun, Bitzer and the Flock as they decide to repair the Farmer’s well-worn Barbour wax jacket after worrying that due to the damage it would no longer keep him warm and dry. 

“Chaos swiftly ensues, and despite their best efforts the jacket is left looking worse than ever before. Thankfully, Christmas is saved when Bitzer clicks his fingers and the Farmer’s original jacket reappears, lovingly restored by the experts at the Barbour factory… with the message that for some people, re-waxing and repairing jackets might be best left to the professionals at Barbour.”

Sustainability may be a new thing for many brands but Barbour is emphasising how it’s been re-waxing and repairing its jackets for over 100 years, and today the service forms part of Barbour’s Wax for Life programme.

Its Commercial director Paul Wilkinson said: “This Christmas, we wanted to demonstrate the importance of extending the life of our garments and we’ve been able to achieve this through our partnership with Aardman. Working with Shaun the Sheep and his friends, we’ve created a light-hearted and engaging film that we hope will make people smile this festive season.  

“With a Barbour wax jacket, age is no limitation and through our Wax for Life initiative, globally every year over 73,000 of our wax jackets are returned to be re-waxed or repaired. A Barbour jacket is like an old friend – it becomes part of your life and part of your shared experiences and memories.”