Tesco celebrates the imperfect moments of the festive season

When it comes to the festive season, it’s most commonly framed as a series of picture-perfect, wholesome moments.

But if you talk to most people, their festive period is full of funny, chaotic, unscripted moments, without which, it simply wouldn't be Christmas.

Taking a unique approach, Tesco’s ‘That’s What Makes It Christmas’ campaign is structured as a series of standalone films (in 10, 20 and 30-second formats). Created in partnership with BBH London, each film introduces a different family and a different narrative, united by the central theme of celebrating the weird and wonderful moments where real festivity is found, and ensuring the campaign helps the whole country feel seen this holiday season.

Moving away from a censored view of Christmas, the films show that people actually find their festivity in all manner of perfectly imperfect moments.

The series of vignettes shows a range of all too familiar scenarios - colleagues musing over what to buy that person from the office they barely know for Secret Santa, a fridge stuffed full of delicious treats, that you are not allowed to touch until Christmas day, or making sure you get that essential bag of Christmas nuts. Does anyone actually eat them? Other narratives include family board games that get seriously competitive, awkward chats with the neighbours you don’t really know and heading back home up north only to be teased about your southern twang.

Because after all, that’s what makes it Christmas.

The campaign highlights how Tesco shows up for customers over the festive season, whether it’s for the abundant main meal, snacky bits for when guests nip over, to party food for the office get together, Tesco is intrinsically part of Christmas in the UK so who better to celebrate every facet of it.

Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, executive creative director at BBH said: "At BBH we say we haven't had a truly great creative year until we've delivered a great Tesco Christmas campaign. This year, we're reframing and revelling in the reality that Christmas isn't made by those picture-perfect, frameable moments. It's during the messy, weird and unscripted chaos where the Christmas spirit really kicks in, and that felt like a different take on the festive season."

The films were directed by Jeff Low and produced by Biscuit Filmworks, with the campaign scored by the track "Holly Jolly Christmas" and narration from comedian John Bishop.