Gary Lineker caught the attention of the public by driving a Walkers-themed sleigh around Battersea power station, marking the football legend’s 30th year with the brand.
Driving a red and gold Walkers branded sleigh and wearing a red Next suit in a modern twist on Santa, Lineker then shocked the onlookers by finally sharing his crisps, after years of being seen in adverts refusing to share with everyone from the Spice Girls to Mariah Carey.
The stunt last Thursday marks the recent launch of the brand’s Christmas ad which features their large sharing bag range including Walkers MAX, Sensations and Wotsits.
The marketing venture also coincides with the launch of a new range of limited edition flavours ahead of Christmas – including Walkers Festive Turkey, Pigs in Blankets and even more outlandishly a Christmas Pudding flavour.
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“It’s hard to believe that I’ve spent almost half my life working with Walkers, so we definitely felt we needed to kick off our 30th year with something memorable. And in three decades of Christmas, Walkers had to dress like this and transform into ‘Father Crispmas!” said Gary Lineker.
“I’ve worked with some amazing people on the many campaigns I’ve done with Walkers over the years, but if I was finally going to agree to share my crisps with anyone, there was only one option for who it could be – it had to be the Great British public… but only because it’s Christmas!”
Walkers Wayne Newton said: “It’s hard to believe that in all these years we haven’t managed to get Gary donning a red festive suit and playing Santa until now, but a landmark anniversary is deserving of a landmark gesture – and Gary not only dressing Santa for us for the first time, but also sharing his crisps for the first time is exactly that.”
He added that now the brand has expanded its range of sharing options “there is no excuse”.
