Sainsbury’s Christmas advert for 2022 – which stars Alison Hammond and is narrated by Stephen Fry – celebrates the innovation and creativity of Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Christmas range.
The advert, which airs for the first time today (Friday 4 November), depicts a young chef’s quest to reimagine and breathe new life into one of the most divisive of festive foods – the traditional Christmas pudding.
Set in an imaginary medieval world, a countess, played by Alison Hammond, is in charge of choosing the food for a festive feast. However, her dislike of Christmas pudding means it stays off the menu, until a young cook sets about creating his version of the classic pud; all set to a medieval instrumental version of Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’.
Sainsbury’s head of campaigns Laura Boothby says: “Food plays a central role in any celebration, and we wanted to bring to life the imagination and innovation that goes into creating our Taste the Difference Christmas range. We also wanted the ad to provide some fun and light-hearted Christmas cheer and who better to do that than Alison Hammond.
“The festive feast is a quintessential Christmas moment for many and the perfect setting to celebrate what Sainsbury’s does best: delicious, quality, great value food. We’re always creating and developing new recipes and Christmas is the perfect time to experiment with new twists on traditional flavours.
“We’ve focused on the Christmas pudding specifically because we know it’s divisive – people love it, or they hate it… Pudding lovers can still opt for the traditional dessert, but those who aren’t fans can try our innovative take on the Christmas classic instead.”
Created by global advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy London, the ad will be shown across TV and on Sainsbury’s social channels.
For those like The Countess who dismiss Christmas pudding, Sainsbury’s is opening a Pud You Dare pop-up café where visitors can enjoy a traditional pudding or try the brand-new Taste the Difference Caramelised Biscuit Pudding for free.
