Sainsbury’s: Christmas is for sharing

This is an real story of war.

This is a sharing spirt of Christmas.

On No.12, Sainsbury’s has launched it’s new advertisement for 2014 Christmas. Only in two weeks it has been viewed more than 12 million times on Youtube.

The ad retells a story happened on Dec 24, 1914, when opposing British and German soldiers emerged from their trenches, put down their guns and celebrated the holiday together by exchanging gifts and playing football. The commercial shows how war is transformed to a moment of peace, and expressed the core idea of ‘sharing’ as the spirit of Christmas.

From 1914 to 2o14, this year we witness the 100 years anniversary of the First World War. The advert follows the public’s passionate response to the exhibition of thousands of ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London to commemorate 100 years anniversary of WW1.

“This year, we wanted to reflect that theme of sharing in our Christmas campaign through the lens of one of the most extraordinary moments of sharing in modern history ”, said by Mark Given, head of brand communications at Sainsbury’s.

He also stressed, “one hundred years on from the 1914 Christmas truce, the campaign remembers the fallen, while helping to raise vital funds to support the future of living.”

Remember the fallen, help the veteran.

This strategy tackles the question of  how to sell food and drink by using war. Smart enough,  Sainbury’s has decided to donate all profits made from the sale of a £1 chocolate bar that features in the advert to the Royal British Legion, to help improving the living conditions of veterans from war. Sainsbury’s has a long-running relationship with the RBL going back 20 years.

Who has the best Christmas advert: John Lewis or Sainsbury’s?
42%	John Lewis
58%	Sainsbury’s

As Christmas is around the corner, there is war of creative design and fancy storytelling emerging among major corporations.The Guardian had created a poll for public to vote for ‘who has the best advert’, where Sainsbury’s surpasses John Lewis by 58% vs 42%. Which one do you think is better? Why?

Links to John Lewis Penguin Campaign:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iccscUFY860

Resources:

1. http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/13/sainsburys-christmas-advert-recreates-first-world-war-truce

2. http://www.theguardian.com/media/poll/2014/nov/13/sainsburys-john-lewis-christmas-advert-which-is-best

3. http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1317340/exclusive-sainsburys-christmas-ad-feature-ww1-truce-football-match