For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Sainsbury's “Big Delivery” ad, one of the first big holiday spots released in the UK this year, featuring the beloved Big Friendly Giant (BFG) for the third consecutive year.
Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.
The ad opens to BFG at home decorating for the holidays when he lets out a big sneeze, sending him into his chair. Realizing he’s sick, he mutters aloud “Hey Sainsbury’s, I feel quacky as a duckhound. I think I’ll miss Christmas this year.”
The scene pans to the inside of a Sainsbury’s truck where Annie (a Sainsbury’s store employee from previous holiday campaigns) shares the news with delivery driver, Fred, determinedly stating, “Not on our watch he isn’t!”
The pair load up the truck with goodies from Sainsbury's and set out on a mission to BFG’s home in Giant Country to deliver a big Christmas dinner. Along the way, they encounter several challenges — from snow falling upwards and treacherous cliffs, to the Greedy Giant (introduced in last year’s Christmas ad) and a flock of Squizzly Scotch-Hoppers.
By nightfall, they reach BFG’s house and ring the doorbell with baskets of food in their arms. BFG opens the door in surprise and says, “Annie! You came all this way…just for me?” to which she replies, “Nobody should miss Christmas.”
The ad closes with the three of them sitting down for a nice big dinner, showcasing Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference food as a narrator says, “For everything that makes Christmas unmissable. Sainsbury’s, good food for all of us.” with the logo appearing on screen.
Are you aligning your storylines back to your brand values?
It’s one thing to create a Christmas spot that evokes the feeling of togetherness and the message that no one should go hungry, particularly during the holidays. But it’s another thing to take action based on your brand’s narrative.
Sainsbury's has partnered with Comic Relief, a major British charity founded in 1985 to fight poverty and social injustice through the power of entertainment and humor, for over 27 years, raising more than £188 million to support communities across the UK.
And this relationship has only evolved over the years. In 2022, the two organizations launched Nourish the Nation, a collaborative program tackling food insecurity and helping families access affordable, nutritious food. This was a natural extension of Sainsbury's wider brand purpose, “Good food for all of us,” connecting the everyday role it plays in people's lives with a broader commitment to supporting the communities it serves.
After all, food is central to how Sainsbury's presents itself: as something that brings people together, creates memories and plays an important role in everyday family life. Their work with Comic Relief extends their overarching messaging and narrative that no one should go hungry or feel alone during the holidays by highlighting what happens when access to good food isn't guaranteed. Through initiatives supporting food clubs, school holiday meals and local community organizations, Sainsbury's consistently turns an emotional brand promise into something tangible.
This partnership demonstrates how a retailer can use its scale, customer relationships and everyday presence in communities to make a difference, while reinforcing a brand identity built around food, family and collective responsibility.
Sainsbury’s blockbuster Christmas campaign was created by agency New Commercial Arts, directed by Sam Brown through Rogue Films, with visual effects by Electric Theatre Collective and music/colleague integration supported by Ogilvy UK and Born Licensing.
The campaign brings back BFG for the third consecutive year, showcasing a story about togetherness and not missing out on Christmas.
Emma Bisley, Head of Communications at Sainsbury’s, shares how when deciding on the return of BFG, the most important thing was how the customers responded, stating, “He appeals to everyone across the ages. He’s warm, Christmassy, and has an amazing curiosity about good food — not snozzcumbers, genuine good food.”
The campaign also speaks to the partnership between Sainsburys and Comic Relief and their mission is to raise money to provide 12 million meals, supporting charities and community groups across the UK who are helping children access good food through food clubs, after-school dinners, and meals during the school holidays.
Sainsbury’s Marketing Director, Radha Davies, adds, “We’ve really enjoyed working with the Roald Dahl Story Company, and the BFG has been a brilliant hit for Sainsbury’s and really resonated with our customers. It felt fitting to bring the BFG back and tell our story with him again…I think it brings together the spirit of Christmas beautifully. It has that magical nostalgia and a bit of entertainment that customers really want, especially when the world feels a little out of control.”
Their flagship two-minute spot premiered on television and YouTube on November 1, 2026, supported by 90", 60", 30", and 20" edits across TV, social and online platforms.
Before we dive in, it’s worth calling out that we used our newly released curated norm for this year’s analysis. This is different from the norm we used for our analysis of Christmas ads in the past, so you can’t compare directly with prior results.
Why this approach? Many research businesses are built on massive normative databases. Their size gives them authority and offers reassurance to advertisers. But the larger the dataset, the slower it becomes to adapt. New trends won’t quickly shift the weight of historical averages. Plus, the data is primarily their customers’ ad data, which isn’t necessarily reflective of the market as a whole.
We are the only pre-testing company that invests significantly in creating a curated norm that:
We use this norm because it ensures our data provides the most accurate, relevant and actionable insights possible.
Now let’s get into the performance.
Sainsbury’s “The Big Delivery” lands in the top half of UK ads for its ability to drive short-term sales (Sales Impact: 56) and the top third for its ability to drive long-term brand equity (Brand Impact: 68) — and lands even more strongly with older audiences who have a stronger connection to the BFG.
One of the greatest challenges with advertising over the holiday season (and in the build up) is getting noticed by the people it’s trying to reach. This is particularly true for UK retailers, who are all fighting for attention this time of year. Sainsbury’s spot does an excellent job at cutting through, allowing it to be noticed and remembered (Ad Distinctiveness: 3.9 vs 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention: 4.1 vs. 3.8 norm).
What’s more, people recognize the ad as one that could only be for Sainsbury’s, with the brand clearly coming through in the ad. In fact, 83% of people (norm 72%) remember the brand after watching the ad in a clutter reel.
The brand's excellent use of DBAs, including the prominent Sainsbury’s logos (the primary DBA people identified), the branded delivery van, the brand’s distinctive color throughout (orange) and the BFG character alongside staff uniforms further reinforced that it was only for Sainsbury’s.
And including all those DBAs makes a difference! We conducted research on the impact of DBAs in our latest State of Creative Effectiveness report, where we found that ads that include three or more DBAs are 1.3 times more likely to rank in the top 20% of all social video ads.
The ad also lands the key message that Sainsbury’s delivers delicious high-quality food to make Christmas special — which is seen as clear and believable — exactly what a supermarket advertising during Christmastime hopes to achieve (Clarity & Believability: 4.2 vs 4.0 norm).
The ad also leaves people feeling that Sainsbury’s is “perfect for holiday shopping and meals” (50%), “offers holiday specials” (45%) and “has a wide variety of products” (45%) — all things a retail brand should be conveying at Christmastime.
When it comes to what people liked about the ad, the return of the BFG was a clear frontrunner. People enjoyed seeing a familiar, nostalgic character brought into a Christmas setting, particularly those who remembered the Roald Dahl book from childhood. He had strong Character Appeal (4.1 vs 3.7 norm) and was also easily tied back to the Sainsbury brand after being included in their Christmas campaigns for three consecutive years.
The music choice was also a hit with viewers (Musical Appeal: 3.9 vs 3.7 norm), which did a great job at setting the tone for the upbeat storytelling in the ad in a more subtle way.
People also found the ad to be quite entertaining, with several spikes of laughter throughout the spot, from when the navigation says “avoiding trolls” to when the man’s festive hat pops up a Santa from the chimney, as well as when the man swerves to avoid the giant’s mouth and everyone screams and when he saves the tempura prawns. The most laughter occurs when Annie throws the sprouts out the back of the van and the giant slips on them.
While love remains muted through the ad, it spikes at the end when they show up at the BFG’s doorstep and he’s touched that they came all that way for him. After that moment, love remains the dominant emotion through the end of the ad when they all sit around the table at Christmas and “Sainsbury’s: Good food for all of us” appears on screen and the site navigation in the van says “Your Christmas is complete.”
Here’s a deeper look into what people liked and disliked about the ad:
The BFG and familiar characters
The use of the BFG was one of the strongest sources of appeal. People enjoyed seeing a familiar, nostalgic character brought into a Christmas setting, particularly those who remembered the Roald Dahl book from childhood, with some sharing:
The entertaining storyline and humor
People enjoyed following the delivery journey and seeing how the characters overcame obstacles to get Christmas food to the BFG. The light-hearted comedy, playful moments and unexpected situations helped keep viewers entertained, with some sharing:
The heartwarming Christmas message and festive atmosphere
People responded positively to the emotional side of the story, particularly its themes of kindness, friendship, generosity and making sure nobody is alone at Christmas. People also felt the ad successfully evoked the feeling of Christmas, from the use of the familiar BFG character, festive music, Christmas setting and positive tone, with some sharing:
The food and Christmas product cues
Although the story was the main attraction, people also noticed and appreciated the Christmas food — a big win for the UK retailer! The variety of festive food, the cheeseboard and the final Christmas spread were mentioned as appealing visual elements:
The length of the ad
The most prominent criticism from viewers was the length of the ad, with many saying it was too long. While Christmas ads in the UK do tend to be on the longer side, and Sainsbury does plan to release the story in shorter formats — which will allow the story to flourish by keeping the key emotional and narrative moments — many felt the story could have been told more concisely, with some suggesting it was too lengthy for a typical TV ad break. A few also said it started to lose their attention as it went on, sharing:
That said, the likes certainly outweighed the dislikes for this spot from Sainsbury’s, resulting in an ad that stands out from the sea of retailers and easily ties back to the brand.
What a heartwarming and adventurous spot from Sainsbury's that shows the importance of togetherness this holiday season!
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