Tesco has gone back to the big, storytelling Christmas commercial after trying out smaller, grittier vignettes last year. Not that this one is all glamour – it involves a delivery driver going hundreds of miles out of her way to make sure the shopping gets to a customer on a cold December night.
Luckily, the driver is comedian Roisin Conaty (Last One Laughing, After Life) and the customer is Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Ludwig), together playing former friends who have fallen out over an unspecified disagreement. The two popular and talented actors, together with director Steve Rogers, manage to make something watchable out of a fundamentally pedestrian premise.
Roisin Conaty said: “I love that this story centres on female friendship. It starts in a way many people can relate to, all stress and mayhem, but shows how one small act of kindness can bring people back together after years apart. It’s lovely to show Polly and Lizzie reuniting and celebrating kindness and grace. Also, the silliness we can only feel with old friends alongside the magic of Christmas.”
Anna Maxwell Martin said: “I’m really pleased to be part of a production that acknowledges that whilst we can all strive for our ‘perfect’ Christmas, it is in fact human connection that truly helps to make Christmas magic.”
Suzanne Quinn was promoted to the role of UK customer director at Tesco in 2024 and has been at the retailer since 2013. She said: “This Christmas, Tesco is showing up with plenty of extra little helps to deliver customers their very best Christmas. Whether that’s cracking deals on the products they love, delicious, exclusive food and drink, or festive experiences that bring families together, we’re focused on helping customers make Christmas happen. Because this Christmas, Every Little Helps.”
Felipe Serradourada Guimarães, chief creative officer at BBH London and Dublin, said: “Tesco is such an icon and this story could only have been told by them. We’re so proud to work on a brand that is able to capture the spirit of Christmas for people across the country.”
BBH may have stretched the “Every little helps” line beyond plausibility here. Luckily the star performances and the story of female friendship make the film memorable. They’re right that Christmas deliveries can be fraught but, for a partnership that does such strong advertising all year round, Tesco and BBH seem to struggle with nailing Christmas.
MAA creative scale: 6
