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- Tesco’s Christmas advert focuses on relatable, humorous holiday moments, moving away from traditional tear-jerking themes
- The ad campaign features 11 sketches narrated by comedian John Bishop, highlighting ‘imperfect’ but familiar festive scenarios
- Tesco also partnered with Channel 4’s Gogglebox families, enhancing the ad’s relatable and comedic appeal
Competing with big Christmas adverts from the likes of John Lewis, M&S, and Waitrose might seem like an impossible task, but Tesco might have just done it.
Instead of overly romanticising the holiday season and trying to draw a few tears from viewers, Tesco has gone down the comical route this year with 11 brilliantly British sketches as part of their ‘That’s What Makes It Christmas’ campaign.
Their episodic series moves away from the single-hero film model to give us multiple scenes that feature something almost everyone can relate to.
From being accused of losing your accent when you go back up north, to arguing with your siblings over a board game, and it suddenly becoming about a lot more…
The shorts are voiced by the warm and familiar-sounding John Bishop, with his lyrical Liverpudlian accent providing the perfect comedic backdrop to some nail-bitingly awkward moments.
Like when your mum comes into a deafeningly silent dining room with the turkey after Grandad has said something mildly to wildly offensive, and nobody knows how to react.
Or when you’re forced to witness two cousins you don’t know that well having a full-blown barney in a family round of Pictionary.
Bishop brings the series together like glue, as you can imagine him having dealt with some of these scenarios himself.
In one sequence, a young boy returns home to Liverpool from wherever he’s been studying or working down south, with a big black duffle and a Tesco bag full of shopping.
After entering the front room, he tells his parents he got the ‘fast train home’ but delivers it with a noticeable southern twang – much to his parents’ distaste.
‘State of him’, the mother chimes, before Bishop concludes with: ‘Realising you’re home, that’s what makes it Christmas.’
With Bishop’s unusual route into comedy, which saw him work as a sales rep before becoming a full-time comedian around the age of 40, I’m sure he has some memories of the difficult-to-buy-for colleague he’s been assigned in the office Secret Santa.
A scenario expertly acted out in one of the Tesco ads, conveying the desperation of not knowing what to gift ‘Jeremy from accounts’ or ‘Martha’. They decide that the latter ‘uses the microwave a lot’, but to gift her one would ‘a bit strong, init’.
But don’t be fooled – just because these shorts aren’t overtly sentimental, doesn’t mean that they won’t evoke the same warm Christmassy feeling when you watch them.
In one clip, a teenage boy is seen clumsily wrapping his Christmas presents with thick brown parcel tape and all the best intentions, but none of the skills of execution.
It harks back to the familiar 2011 John Lewis Christmas advert, which saw the nation weep as a little boy couldn’t contain his excitement for the big day – not to open his own gifts, but to give his parents theirs.
Our review of this year’s John Lewis ad
TV Editor, Sabrina Barr, had this to say about the 2025 John Lewis Christmas advert…
Trust us – you’re going to need tissues at the ready, as the retailer’s 2025 ad is a heartwarming tear-jerker that’ll make you want to hug your loved ones as tightly as possible.
In a story reminiscent of The Long Wait – which, in my opinion, is the best festive advert John Lewis has ever made – the new story centres on a teenage boy and his dad, and how a meaningful gift can suffice when you can’t find the words to express how much you care about someone.
Becky Brock, Tesco Group Customer Director, acknowledged that these moments are often the sweetest.
She said: ‘At Tesco, we know that Christmas isn’t just about the picture-perfect moments, it’s about everything perfectly imperfect that happens around them too – that’s where the real magic is.’
The campaign includes a paid partnership with Channel 4’s Gogglebox families, cementing the brand’s family feel even further, and bringing home the comedy this Christmas.
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