Getting into the Christmas spirit too early is a no-go (at least in my books). But, as soon as Halloween is over, it’s absolutely fair game.
Now that November has begun, it’s official – Christmas TV advert season is officially here.
Asda was one of the first major retailers to launch its ad yesterday, kicking off the festivities with the Grinch, who becomes enamoured with the green lights of the supermarket.
And now, Sainsbury’s has finally revealed their offering for 2025 – reuniting their customers with one of the most beloved characters in literature, Roald Dahl’s BFG.
This isn’t the first time that they’ve teamed up with the Big Friendly Giant, as he was a part of its Christmas advert in 2024, enlisting the help of the supermarket to make the big day ‘phizzwhizzy’.
He’s now returned once again, but this time he’s teamed up with Annie, a woman who works for Sainsbury’s in real life, to protect members of the public from having their Christmas dinners stolen by a menacing, 48-foot giant.
The BFG and Annie race from street to street, making sure that everyone’s festive meals are replaced, before eventually catching the culprit right outside of a huge Sainsbury’s store.
But there’s more to this ad than just a fun story with a familiar character, who many of us grew up reading about in well-worn books.
Through their ad, Sainsbury’s is championing the message that Christmas isn’t just about encouraging customers to spend as much as they can – it’s about prioritising good quality and affordable meals for families to enjoy.
The supermarket chain has also teamed up with Comic Relief to distribute over five million meals to families who are experiencing food poverty during the festive period.
Metro spoke to Radha Davies, the marketing director for Sainsbury’s, about the inspiration behind the advert – and we discovered that to create the effect of the BFG, life-size models of parts of his 24-foot body were actually made.
‘The BGF is a character that people have had since childhood, and so that familiarity runs really deep, because it’s a character that they’ve known and loved for generations,’ Radha said.
‘It’s a story you were read at bedtime, and it’s a story that maybe you’ve read to your children. So there is a relationship with the BFG, which I think is really enduring. He has really lovely characteristics. He’s sensitive and thoughtful and helpful and really positive. I think those are really wonderful qualities that everyone could do with more of.’
I was curious to hear how the BFG came to life in the advert, as he picks up Annie while they’re teaming up to save Christmas for many different families who’ve had their meals almost ruined by the giant.
‘It’s quite amazing, because we have these models made that are sort of life-size of what the BFG would be like, like the BFG head or the BFG knee, so that we can get the dimension proportionality correct,’ she explained.
‘So there would be scenes shot where she’s sitting on the BFG’s knee, and we’ve sort of made the knee so that when she gets down, it’s realistic, or when she’s talking, she’s looking up at a giant head, so that the eye lines are correct.
‘It would be so hard to pretend that there’s something there, so there’s something real and tangible for her to look at. But it’s a big plaster cast model. It’s brilliant acting on Annie’s part to be able to give it her all, when it’s a funny white plaster model of a BFG head.’
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