Having Christmas groceries delivered to the wrong address would usually mean a serious problem, especially when the correct address is hundreds of kilometres away. For Tesco, this situation became the starting point for its new Christmas campaign, The Wrong Address, created by BBH London. At the centre of the story is a delivery driver who, while trying to help a customer, unexpectedly rekindles an old friendship.
The three-minute commercial follows Lizzie, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, after she accidentally sends a large Christmas grocery order to her former address. Delivery driver Polly, played by Roisin Conaty, recognises the name of her old school friend and suggests meeting halfway to hand over the groceries. What was supposed to be a simple handover turns into a shared journey during which the two women, after years apart, reminisce about their past and reconnect.
With this year’s campaign, Tesco is also changing its approach to Christmas advertising. Following last year’s concept built around a series of short, everyday situations, BBH London has opted for a single, longer story, with a more cinematic approach and well-known actors. Felipe Serradourada Guimarães, Chief Creative Officer at BBH London and Dublin, explains that the intention was to retain the humour and relatability of everyday situations while giving them a broader narrative framework. The story of a small act of kindness bringing people back together continues to build on the brand’s longstanding message, Every Little Helps.
The casting of Conaty and Maxwell Martin also marks a change from previous Christmas campaigns, in which Tesco had not used well-known actors for several years. The creative team sought performers capable of handling both the comedic and emotional aspects of the story while keeping the reunion between the two former friends believable. Their conversation after years apart includes initial awkwardness, humour and shared memories, preventing the commercial from reducing the entire story to a single emotional moment.
The campaign builds on the communication platform Need Anything from Tesco?, introduced earlier this year, through which the brand highlights its role in customers’ everyday lives. This time, the delivery service provides the starting point for a story about human relationships, while The Police‘s song Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic accompanies the protagonists as they reconnect.
The commercial was directed by Steve Rogers, with production by Biscuit Filmworks UK and Revolver, while the creative concept was developed by Pete Ioulianou and Ollie Agius from BBH London. The campaign launched on 1 November, when its 60-second version made its television debut on the British broadcaster ITV during Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
In addition to television and digital advertising, Tesco is extending its Christmas campaign across stores, its Clubcard loyalty programme and social media. The return of the Tesco Kitchen series is also planned, featuring both lead actresses during November, along with Santa’s Grotto Christmas events in stores across the United Kingdom.
