Another ad for the Co-op (it seems to be advertising rather a lot recently). Did it work for me? To answer that question I'll have to tell you about my dear old grandpa.
He called it ‘t'Op'. He needed a speedy abbreviation for the place because he talked about it a lot. He always shopped at the Co-op. His father had worked there, which entitled him to some kind of unofficial discount. It wasn't just about the money - he loved it, and so I did, too.
I think I still do. The rejigged design for the shops feels uncluttered, fresh and light. The famous Co-op logo has been nipped and tucked without losing what has always made it distinctive.
The website gets the balance between honest and silly about right, promoting its irresistible lemon cup cakes, together with its urgent desire to change the world.
The ad features a typical family in a typical house sitting down to a typical stir-fry.
Typically, the daughter is in her own world, listening to music on headphones. Dad has to text her - on her typically pink mobile phone - to let her know dinner's ready.
Even with the father doing the cooking, and the mother absent, it has a whiff of ‘OXO family' archetype about it.
The Scottish accent of actor John Hannah, who does the voice-over, allows him to rhyme the words ‘good' and ‘food'. Otherwise, in spite of all the chat, there's nothing remarkable.
I'm told about the free-range eggs, the responsibly sourced king prawns and the... well, I can't remember what else I'm told, but I suppose I wasn't listening.
Oh, you can eat all this for a fiver - a fairly typical message in these recessionary times. M&S, Waitrose and others have been pushing it for some time, with far more impact.
Nothing much to make me go out of my way to visit the Co-Op to pick up some responsibly sourced ingredients to make a stir-fry; or anything else. Remember, I'm a big fan of ‘t'Op'.
This is a shame. The Co-op has almost never done anything typically. It has integrity, but its real strength is that it has the right to be my local shop.
There might be a Tesco around the corner, or whatever flat-pack store has just been assembled; but it won't feel like it belongs in quite the same way as the Co-Op.
Apart from my own feelings, I know my grandpa would have preferred this sort of approach. However, despite all his affection for the Co-op, there's really nothing it could do that would get him to try a king prawn.