Why the Sainsbury’s Christmas Ad is a Big Hug from the Big Fella - and the Whole Sainsbury’s Team

The brief for this year’s Christmas campaign for British supermarket Sainsbury’s was simple: to showcase the festive food products, to make people feel warm about the brand and to encourage people to think of Sainsbury’s when they think of Christmas. And the resulting campaign is one that the team behind it are describing as a ‘big hug’.

The hero ad features a little girl who takes control of the supermarket tannoy to ask the burning question: “Hey Sainsbury’s, what does Santa eat for his Christmas dinner?” Real employees from around the Sainsbury’s business leap into action, suggesting a range of products from their Taste the Difference range for Father Christmas to enjoy.

Emma Bisley, head of campaigns at Sainsbury’s explains, “With this year’s advert, We wanted to celebrate the thing that sets us apart – our colleagues. This is why, for the first time ever, we hired real colleagues to feature in the advert, to bring to life the true essence and soul of Sainsbury’s. All of the colleagues shot in the stores are real colleagues, proudly showcasing our products. We called in a little extra help from some actors for some of the other roles and were blown away by the response from our open casting call out.”

Throughout the festive season, Sainsbury’s colleagues will be popping up to answer consumers’ Christmas queries, via playful radio ads and a series of 20” films that focus on different elements of festive shopping including party food, desserts, and budget-friendly options.

It’s a playful affair, and deliberately so. “We know everyone at this time of year is looking for joy and lightheartedness,” says Emma Bisley, head of campaigns at Sainsbury’s, introducing the TVC at a press screening.

After a tough 2023 British consumers are looking for cosy, warm-hearted vibes rather than heart-rending ‘sadvertising’ and James Murphy, founder and CEO at creative agency New Commercial Arts, says that this campaign is much more ‘Mr Pickwick’ than ‘Tiny Tim’.

For as much as the campaign is full of happiness and playfulness, it has been created with an acute sensitivity to the challenges facing people in Britain after a year of rising costs. “The message we wanted to deliver was that Sainsbury’s good food was at the heart of everyone’s Christmas and that sharing that good food is at the heart of that. That’s never more important than when times have been testing or bleak,” says the team at NCA.

2023’s Christmas campaign has been a big journey for the Sainsbury’s team. Not only have they brought on a new creative agency partner - New Commercial Arts, who took over from Wieden+Kennedy London earlier in the year - they’re also using it to launch a new brand promise and positioning that they hope will forge a more human connection with shoppers.

Indeed while the decision to launch a whole new brand platform at the same time as your big festive push might double up the pressure, the team at New Commercial Arts say that all the emotion of the holiday season makes it the perfect time to start this warmer approach. Moreover, it means that all that effort has a longer-term significance. 

“Christmas is the most pivotal moment of the year for any food retailer and launching a new platform for Sainsbury’s, we were determined that Christmas was central to that and not a standalone firework,” says the team. “Launching the campaign at Christmas means it starts at the most emotional point of the food calendar but ‘Good food for all of us’ will be a promise we keep throughout the year around food that is delicious, great value and sustainably sourced,” they say.

While it was a huge undertaking, the new agency has taken it in its stride. “It’s been a brilliant, smooth process from start to finish,” says Emma Bisley.

‘Good Food for All of Us’ aims to underline that the supermarket is focused on providing great-tasting, innovative and affordable food. The ‘all of us’ part of that promise is just as important and relates to the decision to bring warmth and authenticity to the brand’s communications, by including colleagues from across Sainsbury’s.

When NCA first presented the idea, it chimed immediately. “We loved 'Good food for all of us' and positioning our colleagues as the 'good food people',” she says. “The idea had so much to love with its energy and authenticity. Real colleagues in real stores showcasing our products was not something we had done before and yet putting colleagues front and centre made perfect sense when presented to us, and we could really see the potential of how this could continue beyond Christmas.”

Emma says that the marketing team was ‘bombarded’ following an open call across the company. There was, she explains, so much passion from across the Sainsbury’s network that they could have easily cast the ad ten times over. Going forward, the brand plans to continue to showcase Sainsbury’s colleagues, suppliers and farmers and it’s going to be a big part of the new direction.

“The casting process has been so much fun, all of the auditions were packed full of joy and passion and that energy has stayed throughout the process,” says Emma. “When we showed colleagues the ad this week we were blown away by the response - they felt so proud of each other and so excited that they are at the heart of our advertising. I suspect we'll have lots more interest in future campaigns!”

Indeed, the NCA team also found that getting to work with the wider Sainsbury’s team was one of the most rewarding parts of the whole endeavour. “The most interesting thing was the opportunity to make Sainsbury’s colleagues a central part of the whole campaign. They’re the real face of the Sainsbury’s experience for many customers and we wanted their character to come through.”

It’s not just Sainsbury’s employees in the spotlight though. There’s a cheeky cameo with the Rick Roller himself, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ star Rick Astley. On the decision to cast him, Emma Bisely explains that he felt like the perfect fit for the Sainsbury’s brand, and a believable Sainsbury’s shopper. “He’s not completely unexpected - he’s someone you might find down the cheese aisle.”

The commercial was directed by Freddie Waters at Pulse Films. “We needed someone who could bring out the best in colleagues and Freddie fit the bill,” says Emma, explaining that Freddie’s ability to work with non-actors and his skill with food photography made him the perfect director to bring warmth to the campaign while showcasing the range of products on offer.

Looking forward, Emma has high hopes for the brand’s new strategic direction. “Our new brand promise ‘Good food for all of us’ was recently launched with the aim to provide good food for all customers, whatever their budget, tastes or dietary requirements, and however busy their daily lives are. Well-sourced food brings families and friends together and makes every occasion special, and Sainsbury’s knows that good food matters to everybody, every day,” she says. “The advert is part of a long-term creative strategy under Good food for all of us, our ongoing brand promise that will run beyond our Christmas campaign, so keep your eyes peeled!”