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Summary
- J Sainsbury PLC launched the first Christmas advertisement out of a collection of three ads
- Gravy Song, which is a minute-long ad displays a heart-warming phone call between a father and daughter as they express their hopes of spending Christmas together during the Covid-19 crisis
- Some social media trolls have attacked the advertisement for featuring a black family, however, Sainsbury has stated that it was trying to be the most inclusive retailer
Christmas is round the corner, and it is going to be very important this time for the consumers of the UK after the coronavirus pandemic hit hard their lives. A research has been carried by Unruly and Tremor Video, the video advertising company which has found that the consumers have been calling out the advertisers to provide some essentially required festive cheer this year’s Christmas.
Studies have revealed that consumers have been planning and prioritising their holiday shopping on analysing the attitudes, buying behaviours and emotions of the British consumers ahead of the festive season this year.
Major supermarkets such as Lidl, Sainsbury’s And Tesco have unveiled their Christmas advertisements this weekend. J Sainsbury PLC (LON: SBRY) launched the first Christmas advertisement out of a collection of three ads scheduled for this week release. Gravy Song, the first ad went live on Twitter over the weekend. The second ad, Perfect Portions was released on 16 November 2020 and the third one, the Big Sarnie is scheduled to come out on 19 November 2020.
The main aim of the retailer’s ad is to celebrate culinary moments with loved ones and spend time together. Modern British families and their connection is the central theme of the three personal stories which moves around Christmas food, and the viewers are taken back in time. The stories are represented by a conversation over the phone between family members in the present day and video footage, ending with the tag line- ‘Food is Home. Home is Christmas’.
Gravy Song, which is a minute-long ad displays a heart-warming phone call between a father and daughter as they express their hopes of spending Christmas together during the Covid-19 crisis. A home-video footage of family memories is played on the top of the phone call, which includes the famous gravy of the dad. In the advertisement, the daughter is seen saying that her father’s gravy is good to be fair and she really wants to be home for it.
However, some social media trolls have been attacking the advertisement featuring a black family. One of the tweets read that it is not relatable as it does not represent him. He cannot see himself in that ad. The other said that the UK comprises of 80 per cent white and asked Sainsbury whether they do not have the data of their shoppers. A third person said that he had stopped shopping at the supermarket long ago.
But not all the comments were bad. Some were in favour of the supermarket, commenting that they would go out of their way to shop at the supermarket. One person tweeted saying everybody loves the gravy song and he cannot wait to shop at Sainsbury since the racists would not be shopping. Praising the ad, another one said the retailer had done a good job by making an ad which was relatable.
By posting a comment on Twitter, Sainsbury explained that they are trying to be the most inclusive retailer. The aim was to represent a modern Britain which comprises of a diverse range of communities. The three stories describe three different families, said the supermarket.
Emma Bisley, who is the Head of Broadcast Marketing at Sainsbury’s, said that it’s quite evident that this year has been unusual for everyone, that is the reason behind why a different strategy has been undertaken regarding Sainsbury’s ad campaign for Christmas. It is a gentle reminder for people that dishes prepared during Christmas are gestures of love and care, which are prepared and served by the most people in our lives. It is the memories of those dishes which are prepared by our loved ones, that have the power to take us back home.
Perfect Portions, the second advert of the retailer portrayed its hopes to connect shoppers' love for food and Christmas and features an all-white family.
