Aldi’s Americans try to take over Christmas in new work by BMF
Aldi has tackled the Americanisation of the traditional Aussie Christmas head-on with a crazed campaign featuring a frightening family of Americans trying to change our ways.
The latest instalment of the cut-price retailer’s increasingly ‘out there’ marketing efforts, created by BMF introduces the Tinkeltons, who barge into a family home and try to turn the traditional Aussie sun-soaked Christmas into something reflecting the worst American nightmare.
The ad opens with the Tinkleton family arriving at the front door of and unsuspecting Australian family, dressed in matching sweaters, sporting eerie smiles and singing their own version of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’.
“We bring you a merry Christmas, because this isn’t very Christmas, you Aussies are weird”, they sing as they invade every nook and cranny of the house seeking to impose a snow-swept American yule.
“We won’t stop until you get one, we won’t stop until we’re all done,” they continue.
The ad attacks everything from barbecues to budgie smugglers before the Tinkletons are finally won over to an Australian Christmas complete with prawns ands beer.
Anchored by a 75-second main ad, the campaign also includes a series of product-focused 15-second executions, including:
Champagne:
Fudge:
and Lobster tails:
Aldi has backed the campaign with a series of radio versions and will support it with print, out-of-home and social.
BMF creative director Alex Derwin said that the campaign aimed be a mix of Glee meets the Griswolds from National Lampoon’s Vacation series of movies.
“To an outsider, an Aussie Christmas feels weird and wrong, but when you get used to the sunburn and speedos you realise just how special it is,” Derwin said.
“It’s an insight we’ve used before, but this year we’ve put it on steroids. The Tinkletons are a device that allow us to show the ‘Perfect Aussie Christmas’ through a new lens.”
Credits:
- Executive Creative Director: Cam Blackley
- Creative Director: Alex Derwin
- Creative Team: Hans Christian Berents, Gooch Richards, Rosita Rawnsley-Mason, Lucy Chappell and Ben Pearce
- Designer: Matthew Hughes
- Head of Planning: Hugh Munro
- Managing Director: Stephen McArdle
- Group Account Director: Toby Hussey
- Senior Account Directors: Aisling Colley, Peitra Withaar
- Account Executive: Kellie Box
- Agency Producer: Jenny Lee-Archer
- Production Company: Finch
- Director: Nick Ball
- Producer: Camilla Mazzaferro
- MD/EP: Corey Esse
- Production Designer: Neville Stevenson
- Production Manager: Amanda Yu
- Post Production and VFX: Drew Downes at The Refinery
- Editor: Jack Hutchings at The Butchery
- Music and Sound Production: Rumble Studios
- Sound design: Rumble Studios
- DoP: Lachlan Milne
- Art Buyer: Basir Salleh
- Photographer: Gavin Johns
- Media: Maxus
- for immediate release
- Client:
- Marketing Director: Sam Viney
- Marketing Manager: Kylie Warnke
- Marketing Assistant: Katherine Franulovich
LOVE this ad!
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I was really disappointed by this. I love Aldi’s brand and believe they’ve been the best advertiser by far of the last few years so I was hoping to love this when I first saw it. But it just doesn’t work.
The execution is overly quirky, somewhat confusing and quite annoying. There’s not enough humour to offset the weirdness and the joy of Christmas gets lost completely – it’s actually quite stressful
While I think there’s a better idea in here than they’ve executed, the idea itself, of an American family being ‘converted’ by an Aussie Christmas is almost completely irrelevant to the Aldi brand and product offering.
And it isn’t ‘Christmas’. Christmas is an emotional time of the year, it’s the time we spend irrationally on our family and our food…and while they should be applauded for aiming to get away from cliches and trying something different, they in no way are persuading us to get into Aldi to do the big additional discretionary spending.
missed opportunity
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I don’t shop at Aldi because I am worried that someone might see me. I have a reputation to uphold.
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I disagree flesh peddler.
Yeah it’s a bit like an overcooked turkey but it will really stand out. Plus (now I’m assuming here) the 15s will get a tad more rotation than the ’75’ slot. The old 75s. What a number.
The idea I took away from this was ‘nothing beats the perfect aussie christmas’ and what consumers will see is some funny, very hard hitting retail – which is quite compelling on it’s own.
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The Aldi food converted them… it’s not that difficult an idea to understand
D’uh
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BMF have totally missed the mark, the ads are too quirky, try hard and lacks the emotional pull to entice you to try and discover a wide range of fantastic Xmas goodies at Aldi. Hello doesn’t Aldi sell a wide range of food goodies?? You only showcased one food item per ad – eg. Fudge and champagne. What a missed opportunity Aldi Marketing Director and I’m sure you would have paid well over a $1M for this campaign!
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All ho ho ho… no ha ha ha.
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It’s fun not bland, specifically Australian, features no snow or dull tv chefs, is not trying to copy John Lewis and I like it.
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Lee must be a barrel of laughs around the Christmas dinner table.
Meanwhile, ALDI guy took out marketer of the year from memory?
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Lighten Up
Oh yes I will have a barrel of laughs over Xmas eating Alsi food (NOT) and clearly you must be part of the Aldi team defending a shite ad? Ps: let’s face it marketer awards are for the narcissistic and egocentric individuals! Ha ha
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I’m sure I hear Roger from American Dad every time I hear this ad. ????
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and not Germans?
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Indeed, I also hear roger from American dad, that’s what brought me here,looking for voice credit or something, i guess you’d know though, from your name you voice roger too ???
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This ad, hands down, beats the DJ’s and Myer efforts. This is tongue in cheek and it would seem almost having a pop at all the ‘traditional’ northern hemisphere style campaigns. I love it.
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just saw THAT THING again ! fingernails down a blackboard, arrrggghhh !
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Yep I’m here seeing if they purposely stole rogers voice too.?
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Hey, Doink,
It’s bloody ‘orrible, waddaya reckon.
(insert sarcastic sneery-type emoticon)
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Ugh, saw another, different one.
Yucko
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I agree fresh meat. Not quite as good as the surfing Santa with the leg hams campaign but that was a high standard to reach.
I think the 75 sec is terrific. Humorous, engaging and the message is well communicated. This would work really well for cinema.
It’s a shame that in all likeliness the majority will just see the 15 sec spots only. I think they have done an admirable job, but looked at on their own they don’t quite do justice to the 75sec. Champagne is the pick of the three for me.
NB: I have nothing to do with Aldi or any of it’s agencies.
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Yuk, yuk. If anything, this is turning people off Aldi. We like our way of life here Down Under – hot Christmas included. Anybody who likes things Amercian such as Haloween, Thanksgiving and Donald Trump should apply for a Green Card. Aussies, stick to your guns.
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