- They have simple, four-letter brand names that look like the leftover letters from a game of Scrabble.
- Both have logos that look like they were designed by Mr Tumble from CBeebies.
- They both sell affordable groceries on the high street, unashamedly championing cheap prices without
waffle or pretension. - They definitely know who their audience is, and don’t patronise them.
- And they both produce something I think no one would have expected: nice advertising. Much like the cracking Aldi campaign of the past couple of years, Lidl arrives at the table with its own brand of irreverence.
I like this work for many reasons; I look beyond the slightly clunky production values (it’s Lidl, not Fortnum & Mason, after all) and marvel at the cheek of this campaign.
My favourite spot pokes fun at the ultimate middle-class pastime: the dinner party. A Nuts in May-type tree-hugger, invites our man to strip naked and dance around a bonfire after dinner (I’m sure this sort of thing goes on all over Surrey of a weekend).
Since our man is still reeling from the news that the tree-hugger bought all of his posh plonk from Lidl, he doesn’t hear him. Cue awkward silence. From tree-hugger, not us.
It’s super-simple and funny, like a great Fast Show sketch of old. I love the pregnant pauses and awkward silences. The acting and casting are ace. It might even spawn a new playground catchphrase, "What did you just say?" I’ll even forgive the punny endline, "Lidl surprises", although anyone who has worked with me will know I’m a sucker for one, so what’s to forgive?
There are two other lovely spots that accompany this – one about a marriage break-up, and a second featuring a young woman telling her mum she’s knocking off a pensioner. Together, they add up to a great campaign and a platform for a brand that knows what it stands for.
At a time when other big chains are producing bland, safe work around price it is nice to see something with a point of view and work that really stands out.
Moreover – even though I’m only guessing, here – I reckon it was probably made on a much smaller budget.
Funny what a funny idea can do, isn’t it?