Aldi’s ad people must be furious that rival Lidl has such an appropriately pun-worthy name in English. Presumably they couldn’t get ‘Aldi other retailers are terrible’ past the ASA.

Instead, they’re taking a different tack: flagrant use of cute animal. Meet Duncan the duck. Instead of comparing baskets, we’re told, Aldi is now comparing bills. This is a bit disingenuous - they’re the same thing - but geddit? Bills!

Point is, Duncan’s is big, Aldi’s is small. The cheery voiceover man offers Dunc some consolatory words, but he remains unmoved. Whether it’s what Werner Herzog calls “the overwhelming indifference of nature”, or that the chicken breast in the shopping basket is making him nervous, he merely offers a neutral expression and runs off, setting up a weak ‘ruffled feathers’ line.

Whatever. Aldi is cheap, ducks are cute. Fine.

Topics