Grey London and Peta Enlist the Help of David Walliams to Unravel The Ugly Truth Behind Our Festive Traditions

Dec. 11, 2025

PETA, in partnership with award-winning advertising agency Grey London, is taking on festive fashion with an extension of its “Happy Christmassacre” campaign, hijacking one of Christmas’s long-standing traditions, the Christmas jumper, to expose the ugly truth behind the festive season. 

UK Government DEFRA data reveals that in December alone, over 84 million poultry, 865,000 pigs and 212,000 cattle are killed in the UK. Launching on National Christmas Jumper Day, the latest creative twist uses bold design and dark humour to highlight the millions of animals slaughtered in the name of festive indulgence. 

At the centre of the campaign are three limited-edition jumpers, each depicting the brutal reality faced by cows, pigs and turkeys over the festive season. What appears at first glance to be cheerful holiday knits are in fact graphic subversions of traditional holiday imagery, with blood spatter and slaughter scenes replacing snowflakes and reindeers. In addition, stitched into each jumper’s label is a recipe for a delicious festive nut roast as a substitute for meat-eating traditions. 

The jumpers were illustrated in collaboration with Rave Growl and will be worn by a line-up of vegan and vegetarian celebrities across social media and press appearances, including David Walliams, Bimini Bon Boulash, Romesh Ranganathan, Jon Richardson, Sadie Frost and Lou Sanders. 

A limited run of 50 jumpers will be available to buy through PETA’s website, with all proceeds supporting the charity’s mission to promote the ethical treatment of animals. 

To accompany the jumpers, Grey London and PETA have created a knitted style AI animation that transports viewers into the hidden world of the slaughterhouse. The short film, appearing across social platforms, reimagines the act of slaughter through handcrafted textures and surreal festive visuals to reveal the horror stitched into every tradition. 

This campaign builds on the momentum of PETA and Grey London’s earlier “Happy Christmassacre” OOH activation and hero film that launched in November. 

Helen Rhodes, Chief Creative Officer, Grey London said: 

“Every year we compete to wear the ugliest Christmas jumper - but nothing is uglier than the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals. That’s why we’ve created the world’s ugliest Christmas jumpers to spotlight the pain and suffering behind our festive dinner plates. We tried many design routes but landed on a visual double take: from afar, a classic Christmas scene; up close, something much darker. Look closely and you’ll spot countless details, from candy-cane meat hooks to snowflake-shaped rotating saws. Huge thanks to our incredible illustration partners, Rave Growl, whose craft and care helped bring this labour of love to life.” 

 

Elisa Allen, Vice President of Programs, PETA added: 

“These jumpers are more than cosy knits; they're truthbombs that force people to face the horror of celebrating the season of ‘peace and goodwill’ with the butchered bodies of cows, pigs and turkeys as the centrepiece. Wearing one of these jumpers is an act of activism — a call to choose compassion over carnage this Christmas.”