This new Tesco stuff’s a bit queer
So the message is that they’re turning £5 of Clubcard vouchers into £10.
I have to confess I had to watch it a few times before I got that.
Do you know why?
It’s because there was a Furby singing the word ‘Hello’ from that old Lionel Richie song. That kind of distracted me. It still distracts me. The whole explanation is here, including a bit where Matt Atkinson, group marketing and digital officer at Tesco, described this year’s Christmas at Tesco campaign as “a bit different”. He can say that again.
He adds: “We will focus on a single mission; celebrating the things that matter this Christmas, and making them better.”
Call me a thick wanker, but I don’t think the above ad does that.
This whole thing seems a bit strange to me.
It’s Wieden and Kennedy, the UK’s most creative agency, and Tesco, the UK’s biggest brand.
So why does the work feel somewhat uncreative and small?
Here’s another one:
Wieden’s blog sez: ‘Our first ad for Tesco broke at the weekend. It’s a tactical campaign to support their ‘£5 off when you spend £40’ offer.
We’re very pleased to have our first work for Tesco out there.’
That’s quite a humble apologetic way of going about it. Usually the Wiedens blog offers a bit more depth of explanation. Why so quiet? And small?
It’s a bit queer, isn’t it?
I saw it over the weekend. Weirded me out.
Was initially thinking it’s a transitional thing – trying a new approach by adding elements over time (odd ones, that is) without completely alienating the core Tesco customer with a new advertising approach.
Until you pointed it out, I didn’t spot the £5 into 10 thing at all.
Now I’m just thinking it’s strange.
Perhaps they’ll get Christmas out of the way and then start off with a completely new set/style of ads, with a new tagline, new strategy and fresh ideas?
Does this really surprise you after the facebook chair debacle? Sure, it was wk Portland, but the same agency nonetheless. How the mighty have fallen…
I think (and I have no real evidence to back this up, but what the hell, eh?)…
Tesco got a Christmas kicking at the tills last year, losing a tiny sliver of market share.
This made Tesco heap big angry. It’s why Red Brick Road got the elbow.
Their ads were all about money-saving offers. Not a bad strategy, given the state of the economy, but they’re perceived to have lost out to more ’emotive’ campaigns from Sainsbury’s and, of course, John Lewis.
So this year, I’d bet the brief to Wieden’s was along the lines of “Tesco. But with warmth.”
Then when they saw what were probably awesome ideas from the agency, Tesco panicked and reverted to form.
Wieden’s fought for a bit and then acquiesced to the might of Tesco (from what I’ve heard, they DO NOT fuck about).
This is the result. A bit of a pickle.
I might be totally wrong. After all, I have just made the whole thing up… Anyone know any better?
I’m glad I sold my Tesco shares.
It’s bad creative advertising. But I blame Tesco more than W and K. This wacky shit should be reserved for when you’ve no offer or product of merit.
This is like a cheeky creative penalty that the goalie saves. IMO.
It smacks of marketeers out to make a name for themselves rather than their company.
The ‘brand’ Christmas ad for Tesco isn’t on air yet.
Maybe worth waiting til then before passing judgement?
It’s a lot less sinister than that (I believe) – this is some tactical work before a big brand ad breaks.
Now THIS feels like an old Scamp post. I feel like we should slag off some young Fallon creatives.
It will be interesting if they ‘do a John Lewis’ this Christmas.
Especially when it’s fulfilled by me going to those cunty fucking self service machines that populate London and other town centres. You don’t see big John doing that in his stores, do you?
Actually, I bet more than a few brands ‘do a John Lewis’ this Christmas.
Shameful stuff from W&K. Any bloody local radio ad producer could’ve put that 5-4-3-2-1 crap together.
Worryingly I still hold Tesco shares with the belief that the good people at W&K could start turning things around.
The race to the bottom continues.
Absolute Vomit.
for those holding tesco shares, you might be interested to note that large hedge funds are betting on them taking a hammering this christmas
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9659577/Revealed-Hedge-funds-betting-millions-against-Britains-high-street.html
This feels weirdly miserable to me. The supermarket lighting, the empty toy aisle, the Furby’s cold, dead, digital eyes.
“Unexpected item in the bagging area.”
“What the fuck do you mean unexpected? It came from your fucking shop. What were you expecting? A fucking AK47?”
They squeezed a little bit of creativity into tactical ads that could have been pure pollution. People just lurrrrrve to knock WK.
Bit early to write off W&K yet. Patience children
You’re really thinking too much into it!!!!!!!! Its a bit of Christmas cheer!!!!!!!! Seems like you lot have forgotten what that means – Bah Humbug to you all!!