Tesco turns the world into gingerbread in melancholy Christmas ad 2024

Tesco has become the last of the major retailers to launch its 2024 Christmas ad campaign, with a heart-wrenchingly nostalgic advert showing how the holidays can be a confusing time of joy as well as loss.

The ad follows the story of Gary, who struggles to keep his Christmas spirit amid reminders of the absence of his grandmother – but his joy is reignited through festive traditions and a touch of gingerbread magic.

The marketing campaign revolves around Gary and his grandfather rekindling their tradition of building a gingerbread house, something the used to do with Gary’s late grandmother.

In this world, everyday objects turn into gingerbread versions of themselves, seeing CGI gingerbread fish hit screens among others.

To bring its campaign to stores, Tesco has pledged to donate 10p from every sale of gingerbread items, including Mini Gingerbread Men and Create Your Own Gingerbread House kits, to food distribution charities Trussell Trust and FareShare to help fight food poverty. 

FareShare told The Grocer it redistributed around 12 million meals to nearly 7,000 charities in December 2023 alone, as the cost of living crisis continues to cause a hunger crisis in the UK.

“We want our Christmas campaign to connect people with the joy of moments that help feed our Christmas spirit and showcase how Tesco can help you do just that,” said Becky Brock, Tesco’s group customer director.

“We appreciate that even if you love Christmas, there can be little things that eat away at your Christmas spirit as well as things that help to feed it. We’re here to top up your Christmas spirit wherever we can, whether it’s the first bite of a Christmas sandwich, mince pie or gingerbread man, a delicious, great-value spread of food to enjoy with loved ones, or service with a smile from our fantastic colleagues. We hope that the ad, and Tesco, help feed your Christmas spirit this year!”

The ad, set to Gorillaz’s song On Melancholy Hill, was created by BBH London and directed by Iconoclast and Alaska. It will make its TV debut tonight (12 November) during The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV and The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 at 8pm – then continue on social media, online and in cinemas nationwide until 23 December.