Olaf van Gerwen shares how Tesco’s Food Love Stories brings to life the cultural currency of food.
What is the recipe for supermarket advertising success?
Is it using humour, like Asda using Peter Andre (and a side order of questionable dancing) to announce the return of its price ‘rollback’? What about keeping things educational, like Waitrose’s ‘Food to Feel Good About’ series?
Both received warm receptions thanks to their ability to respond to pressing consumer concerns, be it economic uncertainty or demand for quality produce and sustainability. However, they’re missing one secret ingredient: representation.
Brand purpose, as we knew it, has died—RIP, you were fun to hang out with for a bit, but the writing’s on the wall. That being said, representation doesn’t automatically have to come off the table. Kantar’s data shows that inclusion and diversity, or the absence thereof, can influence the purchasing decisions of three-in-four consumers. Unfortunately, alternative data paints a conflicting picture: System1’s research suggests that LGBTQ+ representation in ads does not enhance their effectiveness.
What is clear, though, is that the science of Ehrenberg-Bass tells brands to prioritise broad audience reach to maximise market penetration. For supermarkets striving for success, having both inclusive positioning and ads that reflect that is paramount—and that’s where Tesco stands apart from the crowd.
How the advertising cookie crumbles
Despite being more than a century old, Tesco has never wavered from its original values—giving back to the community. More importantly, it ensures this messaging permeates its advertising, even when it challenges the status quo.
Tesco consistently demonstrates that it has its finger on the cultural pulse, and the wherewithal to translate this into advertising gold. Its beloved campaign platform ‘Food Love Stories’ has been delivering premium results since 2017 – and at Chuck Studios we’ve taken inspiration from lots of them as examples of best-in-class case studies.
This is because the beauty of ‘Food Love Stories’ stems from the use of personal storytelling. Humans will never cease to inspire. It made every meal tell a story, every dish becoming a memory. From ‘David’s hot or not chicken curry’ to ‘Alia’s worth the wait samosas’, authenticity was the star of the show. Each ad was representative of a particular segment of Tesco’s wider audience, whilst always speaking to every potential buyer in the universal language of emotional storytelling. That is what representation is all about.
A brand new platform, is that a risk?
People in marketing have the reflex to freshen things up. We now know ad effectiveness doesn’t deteriorate over timeand I personally found ‘Food Love Stories’ a cornerstone of food advertising. My heart skipped a beat when I read they’d kill it off. But most would agree that eight years is a long time to rely on a single creative platform, particularly in a world saturated by advertising.
Enter ‘It’s not a little thing, it’s everything’. In Tesco’s own words, this campaign aims to “highlight the emotional impact of food.” The brand new campaign, again skilfully developed by the legends of BBH London, shows how food is used to surprise, soothe, comfort, entertain or charm.
The logo play on the grocery bags is a smart and on-the-nose instrument in making sure we all get the nuance. From the swooping sizzles in the launch film to the almost microscopic perfection in the outdoor ads, ’It’s everything’ stands apart by placing the spotlight on quality food and taste, as much as the cultural significance of the ingredients and meals themselves.
Tesco’s genius stems from its ability to look beyond tokenistic diversity. And that is an incredibly powerful tool for making people feel recognised and seen, no matter who or what you are.
How to avoid egg on your face
Until recently, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) was regarded as the bedrock of any corporate success. In 2023, WARC showed that 82% of marketers believed that DEI would play a major role in their marketing strategies. Major brands, particularly in the US, are now scaling back DEI initiatives—or scrapping them altogether after the Trump administration frames it as ‘illegal discrimination’. Walmart, McDonald’s, Meta and Amazon are among the most high profile, but they’re far from the only ones.
Tesco’s new campaign platform serves as a timely reminder for any brand rethinking their approach to DEI. By placing food at the heart of the message, the supermarket chain naturally taps into a multitude of cultural moments and embed itself into the lives of its consumers. Consumers in the Western world are as diverse as it gets. Live with it. It’s what Tesco were doing with ‘Food Love Stories’ and what ‘It’s not a little thing, it’s everything’ will continue to do.
In that sense, it is not a new campaign platform at all. It’s ‘Food Love Stories’, reimagined. If only the world were a bit more like Tesco.
