Aldi’s Annual Kevin The Carrot ‘Feast Of Football’ Xmas Ad Recreates Nike’s Iconic Airport Spot

Aldi’s 2022 Christmas campaign sees its long-running and endearing ‘Kevin the Carrot’ festive brand character showcase his soccer skills in a supermarket parody of Nike’s iconic 1998 ‘Airport’ World Cup ad (which featured the Nike sponsored Brazil squad).

For the seventh consecutive year, Kevin fronts the food retailer’s festive marketing initiative and the online teaser, which dropped on 6 November, jumps on the football bandwagon to leverage the first ever Winter FIFA World Cup being held in Qatar in November and December.

Titled ‘Feast Of Football’, the teaser blends the traditional UK festive Christmas dinner with the country’s football obsession. It sees Kevin the Carrot waiting at the airport for a ‘PeasyJet’ flight to arrive. After discussing the newspaper’s World Cup headlines with his wife and complaining that the tournament will be held in the middle of Christmas, he crumbles it into a paper ball and throws it over his shoulder where it lands amidst a team of (Aldi product inspired edible) footballers (including Ronaldi, Messy, MmmBap, Macaroony, Beth Swede, Marrowdona and Roy Bean) who use it to play a pick-up game in the airport.

The teaser, created by agency McCann and running across TV, digital and social platforms, the campaign spot concludes with a nod to Home Alone with the family realising that they have forgotten about Kevin.

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“Christmas celebrates the joy of being together with loved ones and this year we need some light entertainment more than ever to celebrate the holiday season together,” said Aldi UK Marketing Director Adam Zavalis. “And it definitely wouldn’t be Christmas without Kevin the Carrot on our television screens,” he emphasizes.

Comment

Clearly inspired by the iconic ‘Airport’ spot released by Nike back in 1998 for the FIFA World Cup and by John Hughes’ 1990 Christmas blockbuster ‘Home Alone’, is this ad THE answer to the unusual 2022 client brief that asks an agency to meet the one-off challenge of the country’s most followed sports event (Qatar 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup) taking place in the middle of the country’s most important marketing season (the run up to Christmas)?