ITV has donated an ad spot to Aldi during Sunday’s Euro 2020 final, after the German discounter's execution featuring a football-style analysis of a BBQ was deemed the most creative of the work running during the tournament.
The supermarket’s "Good swap bad swap" spot beat competition in a contest held by ITV and System1 for prime airtime.
It will now appear for free – in an ad-break space worth about £150,000 – as England takes on Italy at Wembley live on ITV.
More than 44 million people tuned into ITV's coverage of Uefa Euro 2016 and the channel expects 2021 audiences to be even bigger.
Aldi’s ad, which features commentator Clive Tyldesley analysing a BBQ as if it were a football match, was deemed to be the most emotionally engaging and enjoyed among audiences.
System1, an independent specialist ad testing agency, worked with ITV to measure each ad’s level of emotional engagement using its star-rating system to arrive at a shortlist of five. The approach is based on the work of psychologist Paul Ekman and has been validated using the IPA’s Effectiveness Awards winners to link emotional engagement to long-term effectiveness.
Aldi’s ad was judged the winner based on the use both of System1’s ad testing methodology and feedback from a representative sample of Euro 2020 viewers from the ITV Village, the broadcaster's community of viewers. The latter wars managed by STRAT7 ResearchBods.
In addition to Aldi, the ads that rated most highly overall were Carlsberg's "The seal", Gillette "Gillette x Raheem Sterling – best face forward", Kopparberg "To firsts that last" and Ocado's "There's an Ocado just for you".
Sean McGinty, marketing director of Aldi UK, said: “We’re delighted to win this competition and it’s great to see that our distinctive brand tone of voice has resonated so well. With this execution we wanted to ensure we were relevant and so by partnering with legendary commentator Clive Tyldesley, we were able to deliver our famous Aldi humour in a way which has clearly appealed.”
Kate Waters, director of client strategy and planning, ITV Commercial, added: “As we've seen from the incredible viewing figures across the tournament, nothing captures the mood of the nation quite like live football, and it's clear from our research results that Aldi’s football themed ad has completely tapped into this.
"Sunday’s final is the most anticipated TV event in 55 years and I’m delighted that Aldi will be part of it as winners of this competition.”
Jon Evans, chief marketer at System1, said: “Aldi have a track record of making wonderfully effective advertising and continue their strong performance with their Euro ad. They get the basics absolutely right with brilliant use of humour, a strong cultural reference and lots of character. Special mention must also go to Carlsberg, who also scored highly and make a serious point in a fun and engaging way that really connected with audiences.”
.jpg)
.jpg)