Desperate people turn to DIY salon treatments in Aldi's humorous lockdown ads

Merman's Guy Manwarning directs U.K. spots from McCann

Published On
Jan 25, 2021

Editor's Pick

With the U.K. now in its third national lockdown, you might think humor would be in short supply in British advertising these days. Not so from supermarket Aldi.

Its latest campaign, "Good swap, bad swap," sees desperate people turning to DIY home treatments while the salon and spa are closed. A homeschooling mom pulls out the glue and duct tape for a craft project with her kids—her home leg wax. Another ad sees a couple of guys hanging out in the sauna, only it's not the glamorous scenario you'd expect.   

The spots point out that these bad "swaps" are in contrast to the "good swap" you could make by switching to Aldi. 

The campaign, by McCann Manchester, was directed by Guy Manwaring of Merman, who said in a statement, “After a year of clients and agencies cautiously trying to reflect the mood of the nation through the work that was being created, it feels like we are now beginning to see more comedy scripts, as it's clear that people want a bit of escapism from all the negativity on our screens."

Credits

Date
Jan 25, 2021
Client :
Aldi
Agency :
McCann-Manchester
Director :
Guy Manwaring
Production Company :
Merman
Creative Director :
Dave Price
Art Director :
Brendan Shryane
Copywriter :
Rob Gorton
Business Director :
EJ Brown
Senior Account Manager :
Josie Campbell
Senior Account Manager :
Cara Hsrcombe
Agency Producer :
Kal Tank
Director :
Guy Manwaring
Executive Producer :
Siobhan Murphy
Producer :
Amy Appleton
Production Manager :
Natalie Isaac
Edit House :
Work Editorial
Editor :
Mark Edinoff
POST HOUSE/VFX :
Freefolk
Colorist :
Paul Harrison
Flame Op :
Andy Copping

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