Sainsburys Christmas 1914 Advert

[dampfpanzerwagon]

I saw this and thought it was worth sharing.



Tony

[Tym]

Full marks to Taff Gillingham.  Historical advisor real knowledge.

[carlos13th]

I like the video even if I cant help but think at the end of it that this makes the day after even worse. Not so keen on the fact its an advert. That said I didn't feel like it was trying to sell me anything in particular and it was made in partnership with The Royal British Legion so while it could have been very distasteful I don't think this was.

[joroas]

You could have his hard-tack biscuit instead of the chocolate.......

I thought it walked a nice line, the company advert was only at the end and was quite in keeping......  Alongside the Hovis advert, these are fine examples of historical accuracy, a pity TV and film-makers don't put so much effort in.....

[Paddy649]

Nicely done!  Good to see the Royal British Legion was involved.  I haven't heard how much money Sainsbury's donated to them but I hope it was a lot!  I don't think it is cynical like some have suggested and frankly don't care if it is a rip off from a Paul McCartney video form way back when.  It certainly knocks spots of John Lewis' penguin advert!

[Captain Blood]

Hmmm. I found it a bit corny and saccharine. I don't know about Paul McCartney, but it's basically a scene lifted straight from 'Oh What A Lovely War'. Good attention to detail in the uniforms - better than most TV dramas set in the period. But all a bit too neat and clean surely? And the lead actors don't really convince as men of that time...

I wouldn't call it cynical necessarily... Giving Sainsbury's the benefit of the doubt, they have to make a big, fancy Christmas ad to compete with John Lewis... Presumably they thought the anniversary was worth marking, and that a generous donation to the Royal British Legion would provide enough of a modesty blanket for anyone crying 'exploitation'.

Ill-judged, or a stroke of marketing genius? Time will tell. I lean slightly towards ill-judged...
At the end of the day, there's something a wee bit distasteful about harnessing an iconic episode from the war to end all wars, in order to encourage us to go to the supermarket and spend large sums of our hard-earned cash on obscene amounts of food and drink we don't really need, just so we can all sit at home and gratuitously binge ourselves silly for a week... Feels rather a long way from the true horror and deprivation of trench warfare, n'est ce pas?

Ah well... They're still my favourite supermarket 

[Diakon]

I personally find it very ill judged for similar reasons to Captain Blood. I think it actually beautifies one of the most shameful and brutal episodes in human history.
I also can't help but thinking about the two days of terrible fighting that this day was sandwiched between.

[OSHIROmodels]

Ah well... They're still my favourite supermarket 

I would've thought that was Waitrose 

cheers

James

[carlos13th]

Can you clarify which is the shameful episode? The truce? The ending of the truce?

I think he means the First World War in general not the truce itself.

[6milPhil]

I don't like this at all, I think it's shameful and not impressed with the RBL involvement, but they're struggling for funds to fill the void created by government. The government's behaviour remains worryingly similar to that of 1914 - they couldn't care less.
 
It'll get worse over the following four years though. More shilling for corporations, plenty of hand-wringing TV presenters, and general showboating on one of the greatest shames on our civilisation in the 20th century. The original exploitation of folk towards industrial carnage was sad enough, this modern manipulation is both tacky and heartless. 

What's next? An M&S holocaust ad perhaps?

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah.

[carlos marighela]

I fell heavily on the side of... bleahhhh, Christ I want to throw up. I'm looking forward to Sainsbury's 2016 Christmas campaign riffing on the Battle of the Somme.

By the way the John Lewis ad is fine, you just have to find the right version...

[Paddy649]

It'll get worse over the following four years though.

Marketing men with a 4 year attention span.  That's a first!  Nah!  200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo - so next year it'll be plucky British in squares sharing chocolate with French Cuirassiers!

Carlos - Roast Penguin - an improvement!

[fastolfrus]

As far as the media is concerned the war will all be over by Christmas.

A lot of the journalists (and public) give the impression that this year is the 100th anniversary. That's why there are tanks & trenches everywhere.
No distinction between 1914,15,16,17,18, it's the 100th anniversary of WWI.

Next year will be something different. Not WWI, we've done that.

[Nord]

Not keen on the advert, but then is it any different to the films/games that are put out on a regular basis. Is the latest Brad Pitt film exploitation, education or entertainment? Is it meant to be one or the other. I haven't seen it.

To be frank, I don't game anything from the real era beyond the dark ages, I know that's daft to most people on here and it certainly wouldn't make sense at all to the younger, Call of Duty generation. I feel uneasy with the concept of gaming/fun applied to the world wars in particular. While there are a scant few remaining, it seems wrong (to me) to turn the suffering and horror of real, ordinary people into a "game". YMMV. 

[joroas]

Hovis:



Weetabix had a series of ads back in the day, featuring the Battle of Naseby, Robin Hood and The Lone Ranger.