Christmas 2019.Supermarkets

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Only one place to start with Aldi – Kevin The Carrot made his return to our screens over Christmas, this time played by Robbie Williams who recorded a reworked version of his hit ‘Let Me Entertain You’ for the advert.

Kevin was, unsurprisingly, the focal point of the chain’s multichannel campaign, under the slogan ‘Put On An Amazing Show This Christmas’, which appeared online as well as on in-store and outdoor POS signage.

The brand used social media to push some of its seasonal offers, but also built on the Kevin backstory with playful posts such as the Russell Sprout ‘Wanted’ poster, helping to bring followers into the world it had created and increase brand sentiment.

“Outdoing the 2018 Kevin The Carrot campaign was no mean feat, but

the introduction of pop icon Robbie Williams in the starring role lent the 2019 version some celebrity glamour that helped take it above and beyond

its predecessor.”

Natalie SomervilleStrategy & Creative Director

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ASDA’s campaign was tagged ‘Let’s make Christmas extra special’, and the TV advert channelled a wholesome, family-friendly vibe. It followed two children, Jack and Tilly, as they spread festive magic from the northern lights around their home town.

Online, the brand’s website had a dedicated Christmas Dinner section, allowing customers to select their courses with ease and also providing recipe ideas, taking care of all aspects of the feast. Social media also pushed vegan-friendly options, showing an awareness of changing trends.

And in-store, simple red signage was used to clearly convey its deals.

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“The clever layout of ASDA’s website allowed customers to effectively

build their own Christmas dinner course by course, with recipe ideas also included – a really helpful tool

that also served to highlight its exceptional range of products.”

Jon AstonDigital Director

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Christmas puddings and chocolate selection boxes were given smart, disruptive displays in Co-op over the festive season, while in-store signage was kept fairly simple but perfectly on-theme, with subtle tree graphics and snow falling on a deep red backdrop.

Seasonal favourites such as mulled wine were pushed through its social media channels, while the brand also drew attention to its support for various causes, tying it in with a limited-edition Turkey Feast sandwich that raised funds for mental health charities.

And on Co-op’s website it pulled out all the stops on its photography to advertise its festive food range.

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Iceland and Frozen 2 – it’s a match made in heaven. The supermarket chain made the most of its collaboration with the Disney animation by incorporating it into its TV advert and in-store signage, alongside the snappy tagline ‘Discover the magic of frozen’.

Digital activity tended to focus on seasonal food staples, pushing turkey crowns, tempura sprouts and pigs- in-blankets through its website and social media accounts.

The brand’s deep red colour palette prevailed across its channels, helping to give the campaign a consistent, coherent feel.

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‘Big on a Christmas you can believe in’ – that was the slogan for Lidl’s 2019 campaign, incorporated into a bauble design on the chain’s website and in-store POS signage. Other posters, reading ‘When it’s gone… it’s gone’ helped push customers to snap up its seasonal collection.

The brand’s social media posts kept things relatively simple, with imagery of its products labelled with a tongue-in-cheek tagline, along with text that focused on clearly outlining its deals.

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“The great thing about Lidl’s ‘Big on…’ tagline is that it

can be easily repurposed for any event – it seamlessly

incorporated the Christmas theme while still being instantly recognisable.”

Claire RoshanzamirStrategy & Creative Director

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In-store signage at M&S largely kept to its traditional formula – the brand’s unmistakable slogan in a clear typeface, set against a black background that plays on its upmarket feel.

Its website encouraged customers to order their Christmas and New Year food in advance, while social media utilised sharp imagery to showcase M&S’s food and drink, while also giving customers added value through recipe ideas.

All of this was built around the brand’s TV advert, a memorable jaunt through a Christmas market sampling its specials starring Paddy McGuinness and Emma Willis.

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“Enlisting the help of popular TV personalities Paddy McGuinness

and Emma Willis gave M&S’s campaign a really accessible and credible feel that was perfectly pitched to its target audience.”

Jess HylandBusiness Unit Director

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Across its various platforms, Morrisons’ Christmas campaign stuck to a recognisable red and green colour scheme, making it easily identifiable to customers.

Social media channels were used to push deals and festive specials, but also recipe ideas which gave customers more take-home value and helped increase brand sentiment.

Signage in stores was clear in outlining its offers, but the ‘Merry Christmas from everyone at Morrisons’ hanging sign promoted its family values, and a more detailed poster for its wine selection promoted its award-winning credentials.

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Heritage was the focus of the Sainsbury’s Christmas TV campaign, as the supermarket chain celebrated its 150-year history with an advert that took a tongue-in-cheek look back in time. In-store, an archway-style banner ushered customers into its ‘Christmas shop’, with signage in a seasonal green with snowflake graphics. A disruptive display at the front of the shop promoted its brochure of food to order, with details on how to reserve it. Social media had a range of purposes, from offering bonus Nectar points for customers ordering turkey from Sainsbury’s, to Instagram collaborations that spread its reach and more serious posts outlining its charitable nature.

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“While a lot of brand’s do those ‘historical’ campaigns about how

they changed Christmas, Sainsbury’s took a refreshingly tongue-in-

cheek approach that poked fun at that notion while simultaneously

highlighting its heritage.”

Robin JungBusiness Unit Director

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The slogan at SPAR this year was ‘Count on us this Christmas’, and kept to a simple but on-theme colour palette of red and green across its platforms.

The brand included a disruptive Quality Street display in-store, styled as a road sign that helped draw customers in.

Mariah Carey, a name synonymous with Christmas, featured on website banners and social media posts, while competitions gave followers the chance to win must-have seasonal items and helped to drive engagement.

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For its 100th anniversary, Tesco took us on a trip through time with a well-crafted TV campaign that pivoted from genuinely historical moments to British cultural staples from the last century, each one used to demonstrate the brand’s ongoing role.

Website banners and select in-store posters also made a point of highlighting its centenary celebration, while more discreet signage played on the theme with a simple red background, festive graphics and sharp messaging.

Its gluten-free rarebit, advertised on social media, showed how Tesco was adapting to our changing eating habits, while other posts drew attention to its Food Collection campaign and in turn its charitable values.

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“Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Tesco’s Christmas

TV campaign played on our nostalgia for times gone by while showing how the brand has been a consistent presence in British

life throughout the last century.”

Alan TurnerCreative Director

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The magic of Waitrose’s annual Christmas campaign is its ability to get customers invested in a story and character after only a matter of minutes, and that was epitomised by the hugely successful Excitable Edgar campaign. Unsurprisingly, the adorable dragon was splashed across social media, web pages and even the brand’s gift card, and was also available as a soft toy.

Elsewhere, Waitrose maintained its upmarket reputation with elegant in-store signage, along with an array of online recipe ideas to give customers more value from its website.

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“Pitch-perfect in its execution, the Excitable Edgar campaign proved exactly why the Waitrose/John Lewis Christmas adverts are so widely anticipated. From the music to the animation, the brands created a rich story and unforgettable character from just a few minutes of

footage, a remarkable feat that shows why they’re the gold standard every year.”

Sarah PerryCreative Director

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Christmas 2019.Thank you

Get in touch for more information or to discuss opportunities for your business

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*Information and images within this report are gathered from ITG research, third party resources and materials available in the public domain.