Santa has a vaccine passport in Tesco's (controversial) Christmas ad

U.K. grocer says 'nothing's stopping us' (including stock shortages) but has already attracted anti-vaxxer criticism

Published On
Nov 15, 2021

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Tesco's message in its Christmas commercial this year is that "nothing's stopping us," from travel restrictions to stock shortages, as the U.K. celebrates despite the ongoing pandemic. And that includes an already controversial scene in which Santa shows off his vaccine passport.

U.K. anti-vaxxers are flocking to social media to complain about the ad, because of a scene that shows Santa brandishing a so-called "vaccine passport."

The ad, by BBH London, debuted on Saturday night and has already attracted 1500 complaints to the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), making it the country's most protested ad of the year so far. Meanwhile, anti-vaxxers on social media are calling for a boycott of the retailer's supermarkets. 

The ad, from BBH London, is an unabashed minute-and-a-half of fun set to "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen (also chosen as the soundtrack to Lego's holiday ad this year).

It opens outside a Tesco store with a woman who is determined that nothing will stop her from enjoying Christmas dinner with her family. She dons a pair of goggles and hops on an e-scooter to get there. We also see scenes of a delivery driver determined to get to a family on the top floor of a tower block; an elf who's bribed into keeping Santa's grotto open; and Santa himself, who's threatened with quarantine but triumphantly produces his double-vaccination "COVID pass" at the border gates. And there's even a playful reference to food shortages, with people improvising with other vegetables when carrots aren't available for their snowman's nose. 

The spot was directed by Si and Ad of Academy Films. While its celebratory message is similar to many other retailers this year, Tesco is more unusual in that it does at least refer to the ongoing disruption to life, albeit in a playful way. 

Anti-vaxxers and anti-lockdown protesters are vehemently opposed to the idea of so-called "vaccine passports," which are required by the government to enter some public venues in Scotland but not, as yet, in England. 

British Prime Minster Boris Johnson has so far avoided making them a legal requirement but has threatened to keep them "in reserve" if COVID-19 escalates again.

However, business such as theaters and concerts venues are increasingly asking for proof of double vaccination via a government-issued QR code. The pass is also required for most international travel.

The ad, which broke on Saturday, immediately provoked complaints on Twitter with one woman posting: "Did I really just see a Christmas TV ad on ITV for Tesco to Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop me Now’ hit with families having fun / flying abroad etc & then a guy smiling flashing up his smart phone with a COVID passport on it?? Omg. I am NEVER shopping at Tesco again."

However, others pointed out that if anti-vaxxers boycotted Tesco it would actually make the supermarkets safer.

The ASA must now consider whether to uphold any of the complaints against the ad. According to an ASA spokesman: “The large majority of complaints assert that the ad is coercive, and encourages medical discrimination based on vaccine status.”

In response, Tesco has issued the following statement: "We respect everyone's views and we know that Christmas is a hugely important time for many of our customers and, after last year's events, that is truer now than ever. We set out to create a campaign which took a light-hearted view on how the nation is feeling and it has been well-received by colleagues and customers. We are still in the midst of a pandemic and the advert reflects the current rules and regulations regarding international travel."

The TV ad is running in 90-second, 60-second and two 30-second versions with a wider campaign including press, outdoor, radio, social, in-store and PR.

 

Credits

Date
Nov 15, 2021
Client :
Tesco
Agency :
BBH-London
Chief Customer Officer :
Alessandra Bellini
Chief Brand Proposition and Marketing Comms Director :
Emma Botton
Group Marketing Communications Director :
Murray Bisschop
Head of Seasonal Campaigns :
Sarah Parmar
Campaign Manager :
Simon Boiko
Campaign Assistant :
Gabriella Fenwick
BBH Lead Creative Team :
Lawrence Bushell
BBH Lead Creative Team :
Luke Till
BBH Creative Director :
Kevin Masters
BBH Creative Director :
Christine Turner
Creative Director :
Uche Ezugwu
BBH Creative :
Tom Chancellor
BBH Creative :
Shruti Veeramachineni
BBH Creative :
Kevin Travis
BBH Creative :
Marion Cohen
Executive Creative Director :
Helen Rhodes
Chief Creative Officer :
Stephen de Wolf
Global Chief Creative Officer :
Joakim Borgstrom
BBH Strategist :
Harry Guild
BBH Strategy Director :
Dean Matthewson
BBH Strategy Lead :
John Harrison
BBH Business Lead :
Patrick Netherton
BBH Account Director :
Emily Ross
BBH Account Manager :
Harry Warburton
BBH Account Executive :
Ashleigh Jacobs
BBH Producer :
Georgina Kent
BBH Assistant Producer :
Rebecca Ellis
Production Company :
Academy Films
Director :
Si&Ad
Executive Producer :
Simon Cooper
Producer :
Ash Lockmun
DOP :
Erik Wilson
Post Production :
Electric Theatre Collective
Editor/Editing House :
Final Cut
Sound :
Factory
Music Supervisor :
Hywel Evans
Media Agency :
Mediacom

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