Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury's is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 16.0% share of the supermarket sector. Founded in 1869, by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company became the largest retailer of groceries in 1922.
Sainsbury’s Christmas advert
Sainsbury released three-part festive ad with all three centred around meals that stir up memories of home and family. The first, called Gravy Song, features a father and daughter on the phone as they discuss the dad’s famous gravy, which he makes every year for Christmas. As the father and daughter chat, a montage of Christmas memories is shown on screen, showing them cuddling on the sofa, family members opening presents and the dad joining in with his daughters as they dance in their kitchen. It also depicts the dad making his signature gravy, prompting him to start singing his gravy song in the most cringe-worthy yet lovable dad-like manner possible.[1]
Controversy
Online calls for a boycott of Sainsbury's supermarket over its advert showing a Black family yearning to spend Christmas together. Since it was first aired, the advert has received controversial feedback online. Some white social media users said they felt unrepresented by the television advert’.[2] Others went as far as to say they were boycotting Sainsbury’s because of their ad. But, despite the criticism from some shoppers, others both praised and defended Sainsbury’s for their festive ad.
Clarification
Sainsbury’s released a statement responding to the racist comments.
“At Sainsbury's, we want to be the most inclusive retailer. That's why, throughout all our advertising we aim to represent a modern Britain, which has a diverse range of communities. We have three stories of three different families in our advertising."[3]
Other than that, a group of leading UK supermarkets have joined together to take a stand against a racist online backlash that followed Sainsbury’s Christmas advertisement featuring a black family. Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose ran their adverts back-to-back during two primetime slots on Channel 4 on Friday evening, with the hashtag #StandAgainstRacism. Normally, competitors actively avoid airing their ads close together. A Channel 4 announcement introduced the ad break, saying: “Channel 4 stands up against racism. After the reaction to this year’s Sainsbury’s Christmas commercial, retailers have put their usual festive rivalries aside across two adbreaks tonight to stand side-by-side with us too.[4]
References
- ↑ Bray, Abbie (2020). Sainsbury’s defends Christmas advert as customers threaten to boycott store for featuring black family. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ↑ Elks, Sonia (2020). Sainsbury's Christmas Advert Sparks Online Racism Row in the UK. Retrieved on December 29, 2020.
- ↑ Lewis, Anna (2020). Sainsbury’s Forced To Respond To Racist Comments On Its Christmas Advert. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ↑ Skopeliti, Clea (2020). UK supermarkets unite after Sainsbury's advert prompts racist backlash.. Retrieved on December 29, 2020.
