Campaign of the week: Sainsbury’s Simple Pleasures

It seems as though most retailers have gone down the soft-focus, nostalgic advertising route in the past couple of months, happy-looking children in tow, and Sainsbury’s new offering is no exception.

But it would be unfair to say Sainsbury’s advert is boring or doesn’t stand out – the TV ad, launched on June 20, is interesting.

It depicts two boys living as next door neighbours, shows them meeting and tells the story of their friendship over the summer. The advert is beautifully executed and the two boys are great. What saves it from being too run of the mill is that they’re resolutely not ‘cute’ – instead, the advert brings out the rough-and-tumble aspects of childhood friendships. It’s not too glossy or over-styled, as some of these adverts can seem.

It aims to communicate the message that Sainsbury’s can help shoppers enjoy the ‘simple pleasures’ in life and the sense of carefree fun it manages to create means it achieves this.

It also features both food and non-food products in quite a subtle but cleverly memorable way.

And while the weather is referenced – there’s plenty of grey skies and rain, which is reassuringly realistic – Sainsbury’s steers clear of any more heavy-handed British references, which might be a good idea at this stage. Some consumers might be starting to feel as if they never want to see a Union Jack again.