tesco
Here’s the newish Tesco ad (sorry, I’ve been away, so its launched kind of passed me by):
My first thought was ‘Lurpak’: some lovely shots of food, a celebration of a actually giving a shit about food, normal people using food to make other food, a voiceover that explains how amazing and important food is…
Of course it’s tonally different(ish): this is a bit more middle of the country, appealing to people with a Fab ice lolly as much as food thermometer, but there are still plenty of food porn shots to make you think of a certain brand of premium butter (maybe that’s how/why Wiedens won the pitch).
And I guess the strategy is a bit more obvious than where we’ve been before: people think Tesco is a pile ’em high purveyor of exceedingly cheap kids clothes, books, toasters etc., so let’s zig a bit and remind everyone that we actually sell, y’know… food. And we care about food, because we’ve shown some lovely food lovingly shot (we also sell the Basic range so we don’t care that much about food, but we’re very big and we have to cater to the less well-off and all that).
It’s pretty likeable, but I think I was expecting a little more from the first big-ass brand ad of this client/agency collaboration. Tesco went to W&K and got a nice W&K ad, nothing more, nothing less. When the Christmas work came out there was a sense that it was a bit so-so because the agency hadn’t really had time to bed down the relationship. Now it feels a little like this is it. And that’s fine, but it ain’t going to Grrr us into starry-eyed affection.
PS: small point in the VO: ‘It’s not just fuel; something to fill a hole’ seems at odds with it’s ‘the tummy tamer; the get-up-and-go giver’.
Pants.
First the Pony, then this. Might be just me, but it looks like WK is on a downward slope.
Looks like the mood film was liked so much in research they decided to run with it.
Lazy.
It’s like a Lurpak ad.
And even the Lurpak ads are getting formulaic.
w&nk
Bottom drawer idea. Lots of nice shots of this and that in different styles and a standard voiceover. Think it’s alright but rather forgettable and expect more from wieden. Other than lurpack i haven’t seen a great ad come from there in a while.
Both sides of the discussion being discussed here:
http://campaignblog.campaignlive.co.uk/2013/08/14/tesco-in-pointless-ad-shock/
Cheapens Lurpak’s hard work over the last few years.
If they wanted to talk about their food, where are the shots of ammonia riddled battery chickens, hormonally pumped cows and Eastern European radish-pickers living in a tent in Shropshire?
At the risk of being …you know…a cunt…it would be better with an idea in it.
@Scrim: that would require effort.
Its trying to be too cool. I think they’ve got a coolish young director to get carried away and make a lovely mood film thingy completely forgetting the fundamental of an idea or performance that resonates. Epic fail…
I like the new marmite ad though, best thing i’ve seen in ages.
If the milk turns out to be sour i aint the kind of pussy who’s gonna drink it.