How Tesco found the funny in flawed festivities

We all know what's expected from a Christmas ad: mawkish music, joyful endings, happy families, etc.

But is that actually what most of us experience?

Taking a more honest approach to its festive campaign, this year Tesco is presenting not one hero spot, but a collection of shorter, to-the-point comedic films that capture slices of genuine festive familiarity.

Created by BBH London, That’s What Makes It Christmas taps into authentic moments, from the lack of Secret Santa inspiration to the lack of accent noted on the journey up north.

The films are complemented by a full suite of activity across social, outdoor and in-store, including bespoke F&F jumpers that answer awkward family questions, Christmas cards celebrating perfectly imperfect moments, bus wraps, petrol pump messages and a Gogglebox partnership.

We caught up with BBH ECD Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes and Biscuit Filmworks director Jeff Low to find out how they told the untold stories of the season.

Where did the initial insight about “perfectly imperfect” Christmas moments come from, and how did you identify which specific observations would resonate most with people?

Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, Executive Creative Director, BBH London: The insight came from the team, when we were talking about how we build on where people find their Christmas spirit — that people find that festive feeling in the imperfect moments. That insight held it all together, and it runs throughout the whole campaign. 

The bits we love about Christmas are the messy, unscripted, chaotic moments. So we had this master insight that held everything together. Everything else was a nuance off that. 

All the scenarios, the humour and the diversity of stories felt very ownable for Tesco.

What was it about this idea that appealed to you, and how did you approach filming so many different scenarios while keeping a consistent tone?

Jeff Low: It was one of those ideas that I couldn’t believe nobody had done before. Christmas is great, but with expectations running higher than normal, it’s also a bit stressful. 

The short answer is that I treated it like a drama, but made sure the dialogue and the facts of the situation were funny. I really tried to tamp down any effort to be funny, so the audience could find themselves in it instead of being “joked at”.

Why did you choose to move away from the traditional single hero Christmas ad towards a series of smaller, standalone films?

FSG: The idea demanded it. To land the core insight - those real, unscripted moments - you need time. Breaking it into a series of standalone films was the only way to do the idea justice and show the true diversity of families across the country. 

The bits we love about Christmas are the messy, unscripted, chaotic moments.

You just can't get that level of specificity or truth of diversity in a single story.

How did you and the BBH team work together to capture that sense of 'real' Christmas without it feeling cynical or staged?

JL: A lot of it was just exhaustive casting that felt found rather than “cast”. 

A lot of credit goes to Arthur, my art director, who made everything feel lived in but not too “down”. Sounds easy - it’s not.

How important was it that different audiences and experiences were represented, so that the whole country felt seen?

FSG: This approach is really just Tesco as a brand. Unlike any other brand, Tesco is properly part of the fabric of the nation, so we can own this approach with authenticity like no one else. 

We wanted people to watch the films and instantly recognise themselves, or someone they know. That meant mixing universally relatable moments with hyper-specific ones.

What was the casting process like, were you looking for natural performers, comic timing or something else entirely?

JL: Casting was extensive. I’m always looking for naturals - people who are kind of that way anyway, or just brilliant actors who trick me into thinking they are. 

That also works.

Were there any early ideas or festive clichés you deliberately avoided because they felt overused or inauthentic?

FSG: We skipped the classic, tired tropes - no arguments about Brussels sprouts! 

The campaign isn’t about that. 

The stories had to feel intimate and personal to capture the “perfectly imperfect” reality.

Whittling down the options was the hard bit - and the fun bit - as everyone had their own opinion.

Comedy timing can be a fine balance, how much was captured in-camera versus shaped in the edit?

JL: This was shot to be cut and to be able to control the beats. 

We got lucky a couple of times with little, well-timed glances, but mostly it was built to be cut to a funny rhythm.

With so many relatable festive scenarios, how did you go about whittling them down to the final selection?

FSG: Whittling down the options was the hard bit - and the fun bit - as everyone had their own opinion. The funniest ones always win; the ones that really had the “it’s funny because it’s true” moment. 

The team locked themselves away with Jeff; it was a proper collaboration, crafting every joke. But the best stuff, like the microwave line in the Secret Santa film, was ad-libbed on set. We aimed for a balance: craft the writing as much as possible, but have the freedom on set to go with something funnier if it popped up.

What was the scripting process like, and did the writing lean more on observation, comedy timing or truth-telling?

FSG: We picked Jeff because we knew the insight itself needed to be the joke. The writing was focused on those insights, and his mastery is in the execution - the casting, the timing, the edit.

The direction is what delivered the humour, not just the punchline. 

He’s a master at handling underplayed comedy performances, hitting the right beats and landing the line in a way that feels instantly relatable.

Were there any on-set moments or performances that surprised you or changed the way a particular vignette was told?

JL: Not massively, no. It was all pretty well thought out and written prior to going to camera.

How did John Bishop’s narration and tone help anchor the humour and relatability across the series?

FSG: We tried a few approaches, but kept coming back to the need for reality and normalcy. 

John Bishop’s delivery and voice kept everything grounded and relatable, preventing the stories from turning into sketches.

What was the collaboration process with Jeff Low like, and how did the direction elevate the writing and tone?

FSG: Jeff was super collaborative. He was really clear in his vision, but open to anyone making things funnier. His process on set was like making a series, not just ads. He kept the action moving and constantly fed the actors ideas, allowing the funny moments to happen naturally. 

The direction is what delivered the humour, not just the punchline. 

He brings a huge depth of humanity and sense of reality to every film. We’ve been desperate to work with him for a while - and with these films, you can see why.

Did the “perfectly imperfect” theme shape how you shot or edited, for instance did you deliberately leave in rough edges or improvised moments?

JL: The look of it was quite intentional - the camera work, the lighting, the art direction - but we had all the perfectly imperfect stuff kind of written beforehand. 

Not a ton of improv beyond just letting the actors take chances once we got what we needed.

The campaign stretches far beyond the films, from buses wrapped in “run out” paper to F&F jumpers and even petrol pump messages. How did these ideas come together, and what ties them back to the creative core?

FSG: It all ties back to the single, overarching insight: the Christmas spirit comes from those less-than-perfect moments. Ideas like the buses wrapped in “run out” wrapping paper or the F&F jumpers designed to answer awkward questions are just other ways to express that same truth.

The OOH and other media executions could all have been films, and the film stories could have been cards - it’s all very interchangeable in the way we expressed them.

Which of the scenarios do you personally relate to the most, and why?

JL: Nuts, because I can’t just shut up and let my wife go back and get some nuts without saying something stupid and unhelpful.

The OOH and other media executions could all have been films, and the film stories could have been cards - it’s all very interchangeable in the way we expressed them.

FSG: My dad writing Christmas cards to everyone he’s ever met in four languages, full of information that shouldn’t be shared - and then making me proofread them. 

Every year.

What was the oddest or most specific “That’s What Makes It Christmas” story that didn’t make the final cut? Who were the agency weirdos ;-)

FSG: Honestly, we got all the ones we truly wanted in. We didn’t want to outrage or offend - it’s Christmas and it’s Tesco. 

We just wanted to make people laugh, smile and feel seen.

Was there a single detail, a line, a shot or a prop that really captured the spirit of the campaign for you?

JL: I think when the kid comes home in Queen’s English, and the parents don’t even get up off the sofa. 

That’s how people are - an ad person would have greeted him and hugged him.