Over the past couple of days, brands from Lidl to Asda have been releasing their 2023 Christmas adverts to kickstart the festive season.
From Michael Bublé to Graham Norton and Hannah Waddingham, the new ads have been chock-a-block full of starpower.
Now Sainsbury’s is the latest retailer to throw their hat into the ring, with the help of Never Gonna Give You Up singer Rick Astley.
But before we get to Rick, a young girl takes shoppers who are going about their business in a huge supermarket completely aback when she takes hold of the intercom to ask a big question.
‘Hey Sainsbury’s, I have a question,’ she begins, after wandering away from her mother to talk through the speakers in the store. ‘It’s about Santa.’
All of the adults in the shop gasp, clearly thinking that she’s going to ask if Santa’s real… while the actual Santa, who’s chilling in the North Pole, says: ‘Uh oh.’
Everyone in the store stops in their tracks when the young girl gets on the intercom (Picture: Sainsbury’s)
Even Santa – whose face we never see – is taken aback
However, her train of thought goes in another direction, as she asks: ‘What does he have for his Christmas dinner?’
A sigh of relief resounds around the supermarket, as the real employees who work at Sainsbury’s chains across the country who were cast to star in the ad start speculating.
‘I think he’d kick off with a Charcuter-tree,’ referencing a dish that’s a typical charcuterie spread in the shape of – you’ve guessed it – a Christmas tree.
Santa is clearly pleased by that idea, rubbing his hands together as it appears on his dining table, before another Sainsbury’s worker says: ‘Then it’s got to be succulent slow-cooked British turkey crown.’
Someone else claims: ‘And he’d love a Taste The Difference No Beef Wellington,’which is made with mushroom and pea protein instead of meat, as Father Christmas remarks: ‘I’ve got no beef with that.’
The actors in the advert, who are real-life Sainsbury’s employees, join in the guessing game
The scene returns to a Sainsbury’s store, where Rick is browsing in the cheese aisle, dressed in a very merry bright blue suit.
‘How about some cheese?’ he asks the camera.
‘Come on Rick,’ a shop worker responds. ‘Cheese before pudding. You know the rules.’
Her colleague pipes up to sing: ‘And so do I…’, with Rick rolling his eyes and smiling over the obvious reference to one of his most famous Never Gonna Give You Up.
The guessing game continues, as a worker in the bakery asks: ‘Mince pies?’
However, it seems that Santa is bored of the same old mince pies year after year… but the idea of a Belgian chocolate mousse crafted into the shape of a snowy village certainly piques his interest.
Speaking about his involvement in the ad, Rick explained that for him, food always ‘plays such an important part during the holidays’.
‘We’re always looking to bring something exciting to the Christmas dinner table whether that’s a new starter or a surprise showstopping dessert,’ he said.
‘It was a real honour and so much fun to join the Sainsbury’s store team on the shoot – even if they did pull me up on my cheeseboard before dessert suggestion!’
Can Christmas ever be *too* cheesy? Really?