Lidl Christmas advert 2020: how to watch the budget supermarket’s tongue-in-cheek festive promo - and what it’s about

From acts of kindness to lonely old men on the moon, the Christmas advert tradition has been going strong for a good few years, with each competing to tug at the nation’s heartstrings.

This year, however, Lidl has decided to turn the concept on its head with a tongue-in-cheek advert poking fun at the heartfelt efforts of rival supermarkets.

Titled “Big on a Christmas you can believe in”, the advert takes a swipe at the saccharine tropes that usually feature in Christmas ads - magical animals, elderly relatives, lonely hearts meeting - and overwrites them with the bargain prices that Lidl is famous for. It was premiered during the launch show for the new series of I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here.

The advert is animated and features a song, opening to a scene of a robin landing on the snowy windowsill of a little girl with the words “could a friendship be ahead”, swiftly followed by “no, it’s a Christmas ad for Lidl with great prices instead!”

It continues in the same vein, presenting a typical cutesy Christmas stereotype before bringing viewers back to reality with a line about Lidl’s no-nonsense offering.

It makes a funny reference to “emotional gravy” and pans over an animated grandad with the line “There’s usually a moment where we want you to feel sad…But we don’t have time, look sparkling wine!”

There’s a point in the ad where viewers think the supermarket takes a jab at bargain rival Aldi with the line “don’t need cutesy characters when carrots taste this good” sung over a scene of an animated carrot being stabbed with a fork.

Viewers believe the line may be a reference to Aldi’s “Kevin the Carrot” character which caused huge online queues this week as shoppers rushed to buy the plush toys from Aldi’s online store.

Real food is placed in the advert against the animated backdrop, providing a contrast between the unrealistic sentimental animation and the actual Lidl products.

Some of the food products featured in the advert include Lidl’s award-winning matured Christmas pudding, free-range British turkey and their highly-rated Crémant de Loire.

Lidl puts their bargain prices front and centre in the advert to emphasise their no-nonsense approach to Christmas and cheap prices.

Ryan McDonnell, Commercial Director at Lidl GB, said, “We all need a little light relief this year, so we wanted our Christmas ad to show customers that our commitment to high quality at Lidl prices means everyone can believe in a great Christmas – and we had a bit of fun doing it too!”

The budget retailer has also launched a scheme to allow customers to donate essential items to their local community at the till - called the “Teaming up to Tackle Hunger” scheme. Lidl will match every donation made at the till.

The scheme comes as part of Lidl’s continued partnership with Neighbourly, which has seen the retailer donate over six million meals to a number of different charities.