Sainsbury Christmas ad

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by sandy

Its a good ad, but at the end of the day its to get you to buy from Sainsburys. So it depends on which side of the fence you are sitting.

Yes unfortunately they and all the others don't do it for the sake of it, after such a bad year for them they have recently said they are going to drop prices to win back customers, why were the prices too high to start with I ask, ripping us off?. This advert, although well made etc is to make people feel good about Sainsbury, part of their winning back customers campaign

[Suze65]

I agree that they have been very clever and it does depend of how you see it. I was reading in one of the on line papers, an article about it and I must say the writer was very cynical , saying that it was tasteless, insulting to those who died in the war. But I'm not cynical, I think it depends on how your left feeling, and I was left feeling, reminded of all those who fought and died in that terrible war and other wars. I was left with a tear in my eye, and a chill down my spine. I didn't feel like rushing off to sainsburys to do my shopping. Having said that, they are promoting a bar of chocolate , and 100% of the money raised from that will go the Royal British legion, but I suppose when people go to buy their bar of chocolate from sainsburys, they will probably buy a few more things to, and they got you ! Clever but also a good deed . Let's not be too harsh.

[Pussygalore]

I must admit I wasn't to sure when I saw it, I suppose it makes you think but to be honest I'd rather think about soppy or nice things and do like the advert with the penguins which has a lovely touch and isn't real. There are a lot of depressed, lonely etc people about this time of year and I don't think they need reminding of such horrible times. I'm also unsure about using the war as a means of promoting sales for a shop I can understand the complaints.

[Alan1]

I never really knew my relatives who died in WW1 but there will be folk who remember theirs and might think it's a bit much that a supermarket is using what they did as an advert for their shop. It won't affect me either way, if I need something from there I will get it, I was in there last night in fact

[emma_mcraf]

I don't think that any of the Christmas adverts ever make me go to that particular store or buy a certain product. I just enjoy them for what they are. My favourite is the Coca Cola lorry but we never buy Coca Cola.
I can see both sides of the argument on this. I see it as a poignant advert, and with the support of the British Legion, it's there to remind us of the sacrifices made during the war, especially on its centenary. Is it Christmassy and jolly? Obviously not, but Christmas wasn't jolly then and isn't now for many. I'd like to talk to my elderly neighbours about it. My neighbour Jim is 96 and has very distinct memories of Dunkirk. He rarely talks about it and refuses to wear his medals but he once told me about running for his life down the beach with bullets literally whistling past him. I'm not sure he'd like to see an advert portraying that.

The John Lewis advert doesn't make me want to rush out and buy a penguin and the sainsburys one doesn't make me want to buy the said bar of chocolate.

I do find it a shame that people have complained about the advert though. The Great War was eclipsed by WW2 and many don't remember those killed and maimed during it. The infamous football match is the most that many people have learned about it. Maybe it is a good starting point for discussion and many families like us probably don't watch the adverts and go to shop there, they enjoy watching them and talking about them. There are lots of kids who don't know about WW1 and it seems aeons ago to them. So perhaps for that alone, it's a good advert to get people talking, remembering and respecting.
I still won't be buying that bar of chocolate though........

[crazy_sailor]

I'm with Suze. A nice act of remembrance for this pertinent year, fund raising for the RBL but of course it does have their name on it.

[Pussygalore]

I have never bought any product because I saw it advertised on the tv and only watch the adds because you don't have any choice so I pay little attention to which shop is advertising. I also think that the xmas adds are on far to early and am glad I don't have any young children anymore as the things advertised fro children are so costly. I do like the new long xmas adds though and like the snowman one last year, the shops concerned must either be desperate for customers or have made to much profit as the cost involved in making one is so extreme.

[filardimarg2]

This may be controversial & a lot of you may not agree with me...but why do we all need to remember/be reminded of the bad things that happened in the long distant past, I had a horrible upbringing, I don't want or need to ever be reminded of it, so why bring back bad/nasty memories, what ever they are.
Sorry if you don't agree, but it is how I feel.

Marg.

[pagan queen]

For me and my son, it brought things into reality for us. Seeing how young those boys were and that none of them, either side, wanted to be there doing what they were ordered to do. We had a discussion about the loss of whole generations, and how there are people missing in the country that were never born because the men never had the chance to live a full life. There are films about the war but how many children watch them? Not many as they are too long. The ad is short and is full of emotion and imagery that can be taken in in a short time that keeps the attention of children.
I shop at Sainsbury because it's local and because my daughter works there. I would rather pay a few pounds for a chocolate bar and have the money go to charity than £99 for a stuffed penguin and all the profit going to the shop.

[Pussygalore]

thats only if you're going to buy a product advertised on the tv plus don't they say that so much of the so called 'charity ' money never gets where its supposed to be going, ie the millions that were given for the tidal wave victims that are still living in temporary home made shelters in povety and haven't seen a penny of the donated money. If so much of that money had been given to each family they'd have been able to rebuild and start again, I'm sure I'm right in that they built their own homes before any disaster so don't need houses built for them just the money to buy the materials. Another example is the RSPCA that have closed many of the rescue centers, those that are still there are often in very run down conditions, got rid off front line staff etc yet build a new HQ and pay their staff way over the average wage and spend thousands on campaigns that they shouldn't be concerened about.