Tesco shoppers are divided over the high street supermarkets new Christmas advert. Unleashed on the public yesterday, the advert tells the story of a bloke called Gary, who remembers his late grandmother by carrying on their Christmas tradition by building a gingerbread house.
Titled “Helping Feed Your Christmas Spirit” and set to On Melancholy Hill by the Gorillaz – a band you obviously always associate with Christmas music. Gary sees the Christmas spirit explode all around him after his grandfather hands him a packet of Tesco Gingerbread Men.
The world transforms into a gingerbread winter wonderland, but it starts to crumble as bereaved Gary remembers how his gran will be absent at Christmas.
But he and his granddad rekindle a cherished tradition of building a gingerbread house, which takes pride in the household’s festive table.
Then, as everyone sits down to enjoy their meal, their Christmas spirit peaks, and we see the exterior of Grandad’s house transform into gingerbread, too. And while a Reddit thread appearing within hours of it going live calls it “depressing”, shoppers are divided about it – but all agree that “at least Rylan isn’t in it”.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
One wrote: “as long as it doesn’t have snap singing or Rylan in it, it’s all good.”
Another commented: “It reflects life and shows what we perceive as important, isn’t. It reflects that Christmas is a time to come together, for family and friends, that your PlayStation 5 WILL be out next year, mince pies will be available in August next year, and that you can get a new telly in the Boxing day sales.”
(Image: Getty Images)
A third wrote that “it’s quite good but a bit long,” as a four said: “Using Melancholy Hill is a pretty s**t choice of song for a Christmas advert.” Speaking about the advert to The Mirror, Chief commercial officer at Tesco Ashwin Prasad said that there’s more too it than it just being another Christmas advert.
He explained: “As we thought about what the theme should be, we felt the Christmas spirit waxes and wanes throughout the season, as people are worried about the costs, logistics of bringing everyone together and finding all the products they need to on a gift list.
“It is family traditions and the memories that give people the pay-off on Christmas Day when it all comes together. It felt like a big, uniquely Tesco way of recognising how Christmas really is for families. We really loved the story with Gary and his grandad coming together to carry on a tradition.”
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