How Lidl parodied East 17’s Christmas anthem to the delight of millions

With playful lyrics inspired by consumer tweets, and visuals, we highlighted Lidl’s value and seasonal offerings as well as the Lidl Plus app. Tailored edits were strategically placed across Meta and TikTok, driving traffic to the full YouTube video. The result? 42.9 million impressions, overwhelmingly positive social sentiment and 977k clicks to the full video.

In the UK, Christmas is a pivotal period for supermarkets, with a fierce battle for consumer attention and loyalty. Lidl, a discount supermarket chain, recognized the significance of this season and aimed to resonate with British consumers through a culturally attuned campaign filled with nostalgia and humor. The choice to parody a popular Christmas hit, deeply embedded in the UK's musical culture, reflected Lidl's understanding of the British market. By tapping into collective nostalgia and memories of past Christmases, the campaign forged an emotional connection with consumers based in Britain, showing that Lidl understands its audience.

Launching the campaign during the Christmas season took advantage of heightened consumer engagement and spending and by infusing the festive spirit with humour and nostalgia, Lidl set itself apart in a crowded market, driving brand awareness and affinity among British consumers.

Challenge

In the highly saturated advertising market at Christmas, particularly within the competitive supermarket industry, the challenge lies in how brands can effectively cut through the noise and capture consumer attention, ultimately generating significant talkability and engagement during this crucial period.

Brief

The brief entailed creating content that not only sparked conversation but also fostered a positive sentiment toward Lidl GB across various social and PR channels. The content needed to resonate with the audience by feeling relevant, charming, and nostalgic, tapping into shared experiences and emotions associated with the holiday season. By evoking feelings of nostalgia, the aim was to create a connection with consumers that transcended

advertising, fostering genuine engagement and affinity with Lidl as a brand. Through this approach, the goal was to generate organic conversation and favorable attention, ultimately enhancing Lidl’s presence and reputation in the British market.

Objectives

• Generate talkability and foster positive sentiment for Lidl GB across social and PR channels through content that feels relevant, charming, and nostalgic.
• Drive brand love and ensure message cut-through during the Christmas period.
• Increase visibility for Lidl’s value and quality offerings, including highlighting the benefits of the Lidl Plus loyalty app for additional value.
• To create an impactful campaign for Lidl GB during the bustling Christmas season, we wanted to tap into the humor of British consumers with a dose of nostalgia and festive cheer.

Recognizing the power of familiarity, we selected a Christmas song deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of British audiences: East 17’s ‘Stay Another Day’. We started by re-writing the lyrics of the track to highlight Lidl's festive offerings (inspired by real consumer tweets about the brand), such as the Lidl Plus app and popular Christmas products like mince pies and panettone. We found real tweets from people who love Lidl products as well as customers who shout about the Lidl Plus app on social, and approached them to find out if we could use their posts in our video. We got a great response, and this allowed us to use social proof and genuine brand love as part of the creative approach, celebrating customers as well as Lidl.

We approached Tony Mortimer, a founding member of East 17 and writer of the original track to propose a collaboration to re-record it. Tony Mortimer's involvement was essential in making the campaign come together, not only through his star power but also by bringing credibility to the new version.

Through playful presentation, we wanted to underscore Lidl’s identity as a provider of quality products at affordable prices, and so the song was transformed from ‘Stay Another Day to 'Save Another Way... The Lidl Way’.

As the final part of our campaign, we integrated a charitable component, with Lidl GB donating £100k to their partner NSPCC’s Childline service. Through this innovative and heartfelt approach, we not only captured the essence of Christmas but also solidified Lidl’s position as a brand that cares about its audience.

We adopted a multi-channel strategic approach to effectively engage with consumers across various touchpoints during the festive season. Understanding the diverse preferences and behaviors of our target audience, we leveraged platforms across social media, traditional advertising channels, and PR, creating a cohesive and impactful brand presence.

This multi-channel approach allowed us to maximize our reach and resonance, ensuring that our message of value, nostalgia, and festive cheer reached consumers wherever they were. Whether through captivating social media content, or PR placements, our goal remained consistent: to connect with the everyday British consumer during this period of family time and holiday spirit. Our approach enabled us to build a seamless and immersive brand experience that drove engagement and affinity for Lidl during the Christmas season.

Implementation

The idea was pitched to Tony’s management, a unique venture for Tony never before attempted since the band's inception twenty years ago. We arranged a recording at the iconic Abbey Road studios, also enlisting the original backup singer to assist with vocals.

We built hype and anticipation ahead of launch with two 10-second teaser posts across TikTok and Meta.

It launched on TikTok’s premium TopView placement strategically bundled with TopFeed and InFeed placements to drive media efficiencies

In addition, we secured a spot in TikTok’s Christmas advent calendar

• Made the song accessible on streaming platforms, with a Homepage Takeover and Playlist Takeover on Spotify
• Posted a social-first cutdown to Meta, home to some of our most engaged fans, driving to view the full video on YouTube
• Used YouTube pre-roll ads to drive people to the full video within platform

Results

• 42.9M people reached across TikTok and Meta (25% above expectation)
• 67.9M impressions across TikTok and Meta
• 118k likes and comments across TikTok and Meta
• 9,848 new followers across TikTok and Meta
• VTR: 24%
• CTR: 1.43% - 977k clicks to full YouTube video
• 130,000 views on YouTube
• Increased positive sentiment for Lidl Plus across all social channels in Q4 compared to Q3

Earned media

• TikTok Viral Top 10 song
• Ad scored 3.3 stars on System1’s Test Your Ad digital platform, exceeding digital norms for emotional engagement.

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