Ad of the Day: Asda lifts the curtain on its whimsically magical Christmas factory
Asda has turned Willy Wonka for Christmas 2017, enlisting Saatchi & Saatchi to imagine a magical factory where all its festive treats are created by Victorian weightlifters, a giant food mix powered by reindeer and a gin-fuelled truffle laser gun.
The film follows a young girl and her grandad as they explore The Imaginarium, Charlie Bucket style, to the sounds of Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop. By showing captivatingly enchanting insights in every scene, Asda hopes to show shoppers that they needn’t compromise on on ‘providing the most magical experience for their loved ones’.
The film ends with when Walte (a security guard whose past employer could have been The Grand Budapest Hotel) shows them the factory in all its glory from above.
“Earlier in the year we held sessions with our customers to get feedback on our Christmas range,” said Andy Murray, chief marketing offficer at Asda. “As we talked to them about Christmas we could see how much joy and happiness planning their Christmas brought them – we knew we wanted to reflect that in our ad.
“When we saw their reactions to our food – the way it surprised them and made them smile – as well as the incredible pride and attention to detail our product developers had put into creating it, the inspiration for the Imaginarium was born.”
Sara Rose, group creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi London, added: “Although the campaign has a fantastical element to it, our stories are firmly rooted in what Asda has to offer shoppers this Christmas, from old favourites to inventive new treats like gin infused chocolates and massive Christmas puddings. Our first thought was ‘how do they come up with these things?’ And the campaign just grew from there.”
The brand will support the campaign on social with a Snapchat filter that will turn users into the ad’s band of moustached weightlifters.
An additional four 30-second ads, delving further into The Imaginarium, will be rolled out across the festive period. These will further be supported by 10-second ads and six-second YouTube bumpers that focus on Christmas staples such as turkey and party food.
Asda will also utilise Trueview videos for the first time. These will connect audience search terms to relevant video content online via YouTube and Facebook.
