Asda unveils 'biggest ever' Christmas campaign
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Asda has put “real family” situations at the heart of its Christmas campaign and not the “the perfect, idealistic and unattainable Christmas” scenarios potrayed by other brands.
Asda is using insight from mums to promote a “real family” Christmas for its biggest ever festive push.
The Saatchi & Saatchi created campaign - its biggest ever in terms of the number of channels used, the retailer says - launches this weekend (4 October) during the X-Factor with a TV advert depicting the challenges mums experience organising Christmas day for the family. Watch it below.
It features scenes based on what Asda says is “real insight from real families”, from struggling to get the tree into the car to debating the best toys for the kids. The ad uses real colleagues and the leading lady is an Asda shopper.
The ad is soundtracked by Christmas carol Silent Night and is sped up to reflect the excitement of Christmas day before slowing down towards the end as the family settle around the TV in the evening.
The supermarket used insight from its rolling ‘Mumdex’ survey of 4,000 mums to produce the advert as part of a wider strategy to reshape its business around what it identifies its key customers, mums.
The company says the approach was taken to stand out from “the perfect, idealistic and unattainable Christmas” often portrayed over the festive season.
Stephen Smith, chief marketing officer at Asda, adds: “Nothing made it into the ad, unless it was real insight from real experiences. We have spoken to thousands of Asda mums about what Christmas means to them. They told us that Christmas doesn’t just happen by magic. A lot rests on their shoulders; with people to feed, gifts to buy, and families to keep happy, it can be a very busy time but the experiences they have along the way are priceless. Despite the pressure, their big reward is looking back at the end of Christmas day, at a happy and smiling family, and thinking “I did that.”
The TV spot will be supported by tactical ads to promote the supermarket’s “Click & Collect” service and also its partnership with Leiths School of Food and Wine.
Read a Q&A with Asda CMO Stephen Smith here
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Readers' comments (42)
Kay Smyth | Mon, 5 Nov 2012 11:11 pm
I think Asda have badly misjudged their market with this advert. It manages to offend mothers/women (you only find fulfilment in serving and satisfying every need of your family,) and fathers/men (you are just an incompetent spare part.)
The only "emotional levels" it seems to connect on are frustration, defensiveness and anger. It doesn't give the "warm fuzzies," and I can't imagine who'd be moved to shop at Asda as a result of this ghastly advert.
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Anonymous | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 10:42 am
Well done asda,
what a brilliant ad, it must of touched every mother in England, as we all work so hard for xmas to be nice for everyone, its was spot on, it made me, my daughter, and the girls at work cry.Very good. NORMAL
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Anonymous | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 12:06 pm
I watched this ad drop-jawed...how could the mum be lovingly smiling at the family at the end of the day/week of slavery she has just endured. "What's for dinner love" would result in a punch up from me, personally!!
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Sue | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 12:15 pm
What about the dads ! Think Asda are forgetting that some families only have 1 parent that being a dad . My Husband does all the shopping for Xmas aswell as decorating the tree .Lets not forget that they are the bread winners in most families
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Whatevs | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 12:39 pm
The usual sexist, outdated crap - not sure what is more insulting, the busy woman bollocks or the fact it implies no one is capable of doing it, or indeed should be doing it
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lorna | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 1:36 pm
depressing...................................
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Anonymous | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 2:27 pm
I can only assume that this is a joke in very poor taste. I shall never shop at asda
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Web Dude | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 2:40 pm
This is another marketing fail, alienating the customers with twaddle.
"Two Girls, One Cup" was in a flawed FB campaign by Lean Mean Fighting Machine for Dr Pepper (which some thought just 'edgy'), but this Asda ad must come in the top 3 for "How to do it Wrong!"
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Faye | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 3:31 pm
Yuck how sexist! and it COULD have been funny and 'real life' if it had involved ALL members of the family working hard to make xmas good. Why choose to show the mum as a unappreciated skivvy? I wont be buying anything from Asda until they come up with better representation for women.
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Guy Douglass | Tue, 6 Nov 2012 6:02 pm
I am a man and I do (or at least help with) a lot of the chores shown in this advert. Just because it's a woman depicted in the ad doesn't mean a) that Asda are only trying to talk to Mums or b) that people who aren't mums can't relate to what's going on. "Mums" is just shorthand for anyone who has to get stuff done for Christmas. And anyway, some of the chores are part of the Christmas fun (putting up the tree, cooking the pudding/cake, wrapping the presents...). I don't agree that this is a "marketing fail". I disagree with the commentators who say that they are alienating their target audience; the ad may be alienating the chattering classes, but they for the most part don't shop at Asda (or ever intend to). One final thought; if this ad DOES show that mum does too many of the chores might it not encourage the rest of the family to help?
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