NEWS
Christmas battle commences for supermarkets
December 2020
Reading time: 4 minute(s).
We’re talking supermarket Christmas advertising 2020! It has been as strange a year as many of us will ever experience, but for all the uncertainty of much of the past 10 months it’s been somewhat comforting that we are once again surrounded by the warmth and familiarity that comes with Christmas adverts.
Lidl vs. Aldi – Carrots Fired
England vs. Germany, Apple vs. Microsoft, Ali vs. Frazier, Tom vs. Jerry, Lidl vs. Aldi. While the two discount supermarket chains have managed to exist in relative harmony since their early days in Germany, the rivalry has become as spicy as one of Lidl’s bean burgers this Christmas, with Aldi’s festive mascot Kevin the Carrot the target.
Lidl’s advert – titled “Big One a Christmas You Can Believe In” takes a light-hearted look at emotional Christmas adverts in general, but does give Aldi the side-eye in one clip where a carrot – very similar to Kevin – is stabbed with a fork before the line “We don’t need cutesy characters when our carrots taste this good.”
Gammon not on the menu for Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s have been responsible for the most talked-about advert this Christmas, in a lovely, family-focused commercial featuring home video footage of a family in the first of three ads set to be rolled out by the supermarket in the run-up to Christmas.
Now, on the surface, this heart-warming campaign would leave you feeling full of love and nostalgia, but not everyone.
The fact the family featured in the advert were black, mind-blowingly, led some customers to complain and even threaten to boycott Sainsbury’s. Ah, the magic of Christmas.
Christmas as normal at Marks and Spencer
It’s Christmas as normal at Marks and Spencer, who will be releasing a new advert every week until the New Year, featuring a famous face in each clip. Oscar winner and everyone’s favourite Olivia Coleman was first up, letting us all know just how delicious the food on offer at the supermarket is. And an M&S advert wouldn’t be complete without finishing on, “This is not just Christmas food….this is M&S Christmas food.”
Morrisons give nod to key workers
Dua Lipa provides the soundtrack for Morrisons’ Christmas advert this year, in a campaign that also gives a nod to the incredible work done by key workers throughout 2020.
The advert sees a delivery driver switch his radio on as Dua Lipa plays out before we see clips of staff at Morrisons preparing food and families getting ready for Christmas. We then see a nurse returning to her family after a long day – in a nice homage to the nation’s frontline health workers.
Sunny is Asda's star of the show
The coronavirus pandemic plays a major role in Asda’s Christmas advert, with this year’s campaign featuring a real-life family focusing on preparing for the festive season. The advert shows the family decorating their house and stocking up for food for Christmas Day. As an Asda delivery driver arrives outside, the star of the advert Sunny says: “I guess Christmas is going to be different this year, so let’s really make the most of it.” The advert ends with the family’s house lit up in red and yellow lights, and above it, a message that says: “That’s Asda price.”
