Tesco, Free Fruit & Veg for Schools

Every month we dive into the biggest and boldest campaigns airing across the U.K., celebrating the most creatively disruptive and commercially effective work.

Tesco’s “Free Fruit & Veg for Schools” was May’s standout campaign, achieving a giant Branded Memorability score of 7.6, which places it among the top 5% of advertisers in the country.

For the uninitiated, the Branded Memorability score is a prediction of an ad’s long-term brand building potential. It’s a composite measure that diagnoses the breadth and intensity of the emotional response elicited, combined with the level of brand distinctiveness – applying an equal weighting to each of these fundamental ingredients.

For Tesco and creative partner BBH London, the campaign delivered across the board.

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Centered on a fantastical monster comprised of fruits and vegetables, the ad’s ominous introduction had the feel of an action-packed adventure — arousing people’s curiosity right from the get-go. From there, though, the plot quickly shifted to a warmer tone (helped along by Roger Hodgson’s “Give A Little Bit” soundtrack), making clear the affable character’s good intentions and ensuring people were left with overwhelmingly positive feelings.

Further underpinning the campaign’s success was that it placed Tesco at the heart of the emotional narrative. From the opening scenes taking place in the familiar store setting to the communication of the brand’s philanthropic efforts during the plot twist at the ad’s emotional climax, the brand was present throughout — helping create an unmistakable connection to Tesco.

What’s more, the character’s inherently nutritious composition and warm interactions with the young children clearly reinforced Tesco’s commitment to supporting local schools with free fruit and vegetables.

The way the message was brought to life also helped to strengthen perceptions around the supermarket giant being caring, fun, and a provider of high-quality produce.

Combined, this all helped to nudge people toward choosing Tesco over other grocery store alternatives in the short-term, while simultaneously building positive associations that will endure in consumers’ minds over the long run.

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Curious about how to create advertising that’s impossible to ignore? Check out The Creative Effectiveness Playbook to learn about the nine fundamental ingredients for advertising success.