Waitrose' 'fine Dine In' films look like restaurant dates — until the reveal

Sell the premium No.1 £15 Dine In for Two and new No.1 £18 Takeaway for Four on Waitrose's 'The home of food lovers' platform, with prices shown.

Films that look like restaurant scenes pull back to reveal the diners never left home: 'It's not fine dining. It's fine Dine In.'

Two 20-second films — a couple 'heading back for the babysitter' and friends admiring the décor are both already at home — launched across social, BVOD, digital, OOH and a Greatest Hits Radio partnership with Zoe Ball.

Launched 9 October 2026 with no performance metrics yet; it positions Dine In as the end-of-week occasion for younger audiences while keeping both prices on screen.

On October 9, 2026, Waitrose launched a Wonderhood Studios campaign for its Dine In and Takeaway ranges: two 20-second films that appear to be set in restaurants before revealing the diners are eating Waitrose meals at home. Both close on the line 'It's not fine dining, it's fine Dine In', fronting the No.1 £15 Dine In for Two and the new No.1 £18 Takeaway for Four.

The first film follows a couple enjoying what looks like a night out until they remember they need to get back for the babysitter — the reveal shows their baby asleep on a monitor and their table already set at home. In the second, a friend compliments the décor of the restaurant she is 'in', which turns out to be her own house. Creative director Myles Vincent: 'The fun is in letting you think you know exactly where these dinners are happening, before pulling back to reveal no one has actually left the house.'

The work builds on Waitrose's 'The home of food lovers' platform and targets 18-to-35s who might typically order a takeaway, with the price of both offers featured prominently to bring value visibly into the storytelling. It launched across social and BVOD, supported by digital, OOH and radio, including live reads and a listener competition with Zoe Ball on Greatest Hits Radio. Films were produced by Wonderhood Makers and directed by Kyle Jon Shepherd, with media by MG OMD.

Younger audiences default to takeaways for the end-of-week treat, so the campaign had to make staying in feel like the occasion.

The reveal mechanic dramatises the quality claim — the food is good enough that you forget you are at home in your slippers.

Featuring the £15 and £18 prices on screen makes value part of the story rather than a footnote.

Restaurant rituals are instantly recognisable setup cues, so the twist reads in seconds.

Value messaging lands when it borrows the ritual, not just the price — the luxury being sold is the occasion, and the joke is that nobody left the house.

As of the October 9, 2026 launch, the campaign was live across social, BVOD, digital, OOH and radio. Wonderhood Studios' executive creative directors Jack Croft and Stacey Bird led the work, with strategy by Charlotte O'Brien and Kit Thwaites; no performance results have been published yet.