Aldi Christmas Spectacular: Still rooting for Kevin?

aldiSo this is Christmas…what have you done? Well, for Aldi there is only one choice, of course, yet another rehash of Kevin the Carrot’s battle of the festive veg, forget 2016, 2017, and 2018 this time there’s added menace and Robbie Williams to boot.

In this year’s bunfight, devised once again by McCann Manchester, Kevin finds himself up against Russell Sprout and his Brummy gang of Leafy Blinders (yes, yes, we get it…)

The 70-second film sees Kevin, (apparently the nation’s favourite carrot, not that there’s much competition), in hot water with an angry gang of sprouts who are “boiling with rage” that he is again stealing the show as the star Christmas vegetable (quite why a carrot deserves such praise is beyond us).

The ad, begins with the sprouts gathering round Kevin to teach him a lesson. They’ve heard he’s planning on putting on a massive Christmas show and they want to put a stop to it. (God help us…and him).

According to the blurb: “Luckily Kevin manages to escape the sprouts’ clutches with the help of Tiny Tom and deliver his Christmas Spectacular.” (Well, it’s a CGI bonanza in a big top, complete with trapeze action and Robbie Williams blasting out a rehash of Let Me Entertain You.)

Aldi UK marketing director Sean McGinty is certainly entertained. He said: “We’re all thrilled to see Kevin back on our screens again, getting up to his usual tricks. Kevin’s popularity grows every year and he’s becoming something of a national treasure.

“Kevin’s magical big top is the perfect environment to showcase the amazing quality of the Aldi Christmas range of food and drink this year.”

McCann Manchester executive creative director Dave Price, however, obviously had had a blow to the head before he added: “I happen to know Kevin was very nervous ahead of his performance this year, but my word, who would have thought he was so talented? He puts on an amazing performance.” (Er, it’s bloody carrot!)

So what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office? With Christmas ads emerging from every crevice, is Kevin a winner? Will it get us piling down to Aldi to buy, er, carrots? Or are we sprout lovers? Or does anyone actually give a toss?

To be fair, it’s not terrible. In fact it is even slightly amusing and those CGIers have obviously been toiling away for hours, although quite why they left Kevin’s three kids “naked” at the end is anyone’s guess. Still, not that this is any consolation, but there are much, much worse ads out there and no doubt even more to come.

Decision Marketing Adometer 6 out of 10