Sainsbury’s has unveiled its Christmas advert for 2023 starring singer Rick Astley.
The one-minute long ad is set inside one of its supermarkets, where a girl asks on the tannoy, “Hey Sainsbury’s, what does Santa eat for his Christmas dinner?”.
Colleagues working in the store can be seen offering suggestions of festive dishes including several from its Taste the Difference Christmas range.
The campaign, created by advertising agency New Commercial Arts, features a cameo from Astley asking, “how about some cheese?”, while a colleague responds “C’mon Rick, cheese before pudding, you know the rules” and another sings “and so do I” in an all too familiar tune.
It then pans to a birds-eye view of Santa’s Christmas feast, with an overlay of the supermarket’s new brand promise ‘Good Food for All of Us’ which it launched in September.
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For the first time, the grocer has recruited its own employees to feature in its advert in a bid to showcase the role its 152,000 colleagues up and down the country play at Christmas and all year round.
The ad is set to premiere at 8pm tonight on itv during Coronation Street.
Sainsbury’s head of campaigns Emma Bisley said: “The festive season is a magical time of year and our role is to help our customers have an extra special Christmas, especially when it comes to the food.
“We wanted to create an advert that champions our colleagues all over the country, as well as highlighting the innovation of this year’s Taste the Different range.
“From brand-new festive treats to offers on household Christmas favourites, Sainsbury’s has something for everyone’s table – whatever the budget or tastebuds.
“With this year’s advert, we wanted to bring to life the fun of the holidays and the excitement that comes with planning Christmas dinner, while showcasing Sainsbury’s variety of delicious and quality products because good food should be for all.”
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