Sainsburys

One of the great innovations for supermarkets over the past decade or so has been the successful launch of storecards. Whereas before the supermarkets had to go and collect their information through boring market research methods like everyone else, they now have a complete record of everyone's spending trends connected to personal information and population demographics. So they give back a bit (about 1%) - a small price to pay for the economic benefits that having an endlessly analysable set of data brings.

This is hardly ground-breaking stuff, but Sainsbury's latest, and pretty successful, advertising campaign is perhaps the first time that there's been such a blatant use of storecard data. From the information they've garnered from their Nectar card system, Sainsbury's know that a lot of people that are pretty well-off shop in their stores. However, they just keep buying the same old products. Is that an opportunity for a new ad-campaign I see?

Sainsburys decide to tell us, in the nicest possible way, that we are sooo boooring. And there's no denying - stats never lie. They get Jimbo Oliver to use nutmeg on Spag Bol - "Go on" he says "Try it. It's amazingly pukka", like he's giving away the recipe for Ambrosia Custard (living in Devon, I know why it's so creamy - believe me, it should definitely stay secret). The ad works.

However, their radio advert shows that a good idea can be stretched too far. "We know that you boys like your beer", says a young lady, "so with Carling, Carlsberg and John Smiths all on offer, why not try something different?"

Eh? How many men stolidly buy Fosters, eyeing suspiciously those green cans of funny-looking Danish lager? Has anyone ever thought, "Hmmm, I'm going to go crazy and try some heavily processed bitter?" It's such a stupid, stupid advert that I can only think that it was thought up by a tee-total idiot. I can think of no other explanation.

Category:Advert