The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By John McCarthy | Opinion Editor

November 27, 2015 | 2 min read

While many will agree that John Lewis' emotional rollercoaster 'The Man on the Moon' ad campaign won the Christmas ad battle, discount supermarket Aldi also reaped the benefits of the drive with a humourous reimagination of the slot.

The original John Lewis ad took seven months (and £7m) to create whereas the turnaround on Aldi’s hit parody of the campaign (shown above) took just over a week to produce.

Reflecting upon the ad which has now accumulated £1.5m views on YouTube, Aldi's marketing director Adam Zavalis told The Drum that “from the script sign off to the advert being on air, it took just ten days” to get it live on UK TV channels - quickly tapping 'The Man on the Moon' discourse while it still remained relevant in the public eye.

The reactive marketing stunt served as an additional piece of content upon the retailer’s definitive Christmas advert #AldiFavouriteThings (shown below).

The spoof proved to be far more popular however, securing ten times more views.

The spoof remains consistent with the brand’s heritage, building on its well established “wry sense of humour”, argued Zavalis: “The ad is a continuation of our fun, humorous and engaging style of advertising and we’re proud that it sets us apart from other retailers at such a competitive time of year.”

Making a return was Aldi gin enthusiast Jean, on this Zavalis concluded: “Jean was involved in our very first ‘Like Brands’ campaign in 2011, made famous with her preference for gin over tea."

He promised “this isn’t the last that you’ll seen of Jean this Christmas”.

Earlier today, Jacques De Cock, a faculty member at London School of Marketing, discussed the parallels between John Lewis’ Man on the Moon and its “aspirational” copycats – such as Aldi.

John Lewis Christmas Youtube

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