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Tesco lights it up for Christmas

November 14, 2014Written by George Anderson

Tesco has had its fair share of troubles recently. Wounds, such as the accounting scandal that has led to the suspension of numerous high-level executives, appear to be entirely self-inflicted. It's hard to feel sympathy for the people who put the company in the unenviable position it's in. That said, there are thousands of other innocent employees who have been hurt along the way, and they deserve something to feel good about this holiday season. Here's a feel-good Tesco Christmas story for them.

The British chain recently debuted its new Christmas commercial called "Lights On" and it's brilliant. The spot brings together the joy in sharing the spirit of Christmas while getting across the message that Tesco is there to help families get ready for the holiday. While YouTube viewership has not reached the level of John Lewis' "Monty's Christmas" commercial (14 million+), Tesco's spot has attracted more than 416,000 views since it was uploaded last Sunday.

As with John Lewis spot, Tesco's commercial is not an end unto itself. The spot is tied to an outdoor light show (you have to see the video) at the chain's store in Wigan, England. According to reports, Tesco decided to put on the light show after it was criticized on Twitter by a customer, Claire Hannah, for not properly decorating the store for Christmas in 2013. Management was sure not to make that mistake again.

Sharry Cramond, proposition and brand director at Tesco, told the Manchester Evening News, "We always want to put a smile on our customers' faces, so when we spotted Claire's tweet expressing her disappointment that the Wigan store wasn't wearing a green hat we wanted to make it up to her, and the rest of Wigan."

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