Asda has taken a swipe at the “celebrity-filled” campaigns of its rivals as it prepares to launch this year’s Christmas TV ad campaign.

The first of two adverts, from a campaign of 20, will launch this weekend during Saturday night’s edition of The X Factor on ITV1.

“Our adverts won’t be celebrity-filled features, they will shine a spotlight on the stories behind our great quality, award-winning products and the unbelievable value for money of our whole range of gifts, food and drink – the real stars of our show,” said Steve Smith, CMO at Asda.

Citing Asda’s Mumdex research, which found that one in five families were saving for Christmas as early as January, Smith told The Grocer that it was “irresponsible” for rival supermarkets to focus “too heavily” on premium products this Christmas.

With the strapline ‘You’re Better off at Asda’, the first 30-second ad will introduce a line-up of frowning snowmen in a garden. The last snowman in line, representing Asda, will be smiling and standing tall over his companions with the narration urging viewers to think of the snowmen as supermarkets. Asda, the ad says, “beats its rivals by up to 10% on price this Christmas”.

To support the launch, Asda has also booked a three-minute takeover of The X factor app during the same ITV ad break. Users will get the chance to win an Asda shop worth £500 if they create and share a winning snowman.

Meanwhile, a second TV spot, to be shown later on during The X Factor, will focus on a bottle of Asda wine as it passes through iconic Christmas moments. It will be part of a series of six ‘Lovers’ ads’ this Christmas, each reflecting award-winning products on offer at the retailer, Asda said.

The initial two adverts take a notably different direction from last year’s campaign, which was accused of being sexist for its portrayal of a mother carrying out various tasks in preparation for Christmas dinner.  This year’s campaign has been produced by ad firm VCCP Blue for the first time.

“Although we have spent 10% less on our media plan this year, the reach and frequency of our campaign will be much higher,” added Smith.

“We’ve developed a campaign that means you won’t be able to pick up a newspaper, watch TV or go online without seeing one of our products or adverts.”

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