Burberry Christmas Ad 2015

As part of an homage of the musical’s 15th anniversary, Burberry created a Christmas advertising campaign in where Elton John, who wrote the music for the Billy Elliot stage show and Julie Walters who starred in the film adaptation, are joined by models Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, her brother Toby Huntington-Whiteley, Naomi Campbell, musicians James Bay and George Ezra, presenter James Corden, actress Michelle Dockery and Burberry favorite Romeo Beckham.

For Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative of Burberry, “It was a huge privilege to work with such amazing and iconic Britis talent – the cast are quite simple some of the biggest names in film, music and fashion and it was so much fun working with them all to make this special film.”

But the campaign also has a philanthropic side. The original production of Billy Elliot established a legacy of charitable support for the local community of Easington, County Durham where the film is set. Based on that, Burberry is making a donation of £500,000 to be Split between two charities, Place2Be and the County Durham Community Foundation, both charities have projects focusing on reducing barriers to education, training and employment in the local area. None of the stars who took part in the campaign were paid for their involvement, choosing instead; donate their fee to the charities as well.