How Aldi became Britain’s funniest supermarket

Social media sensation #FreeCuthbert is the latest example of how Aldi has used wit to appeal to customers and break through in a very crowded market. We speak to its long-time creative agency McCann UK about how the brand nails its relatable sense of humour

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Aldi has come a long way since its early days as a family-owned grocery store in the beginning of the 1900s. Originally known as Albrecht Discount, the German-owned supermarket’s first store opened in Essen in 1913, before being taken over and expanded by founder Anna Albrecht’s two sons in the 1940s. Today, the company’s distinctive ‘A’ logomark has become instantly recognisable, and it boasts thousands of locations all over the world.

In the UK, Aldi’s phenomenal success wasn’t always set in stone. In fact, when the supermarket opened its first store in Stechford in the 90s there was a discernible snobbery about discount stores and own-brand ranges in general. Slowly but surely, the chain has turned things around, thanks in part to its no-frills store design complete with bargain-focused ‘middle aisle’, the chaotic energy of its multiple-barcode checkout system, and an emphasis on reasonably priced own-brand products, which make up roughly 90% of its stock.

In 2017, Aldi overtook the Co-op to become the UK’s fifth largest retailer. The grocer currently has almost 900 stores and 36,000 staff here, and is expected to have a total of 1,200 stores across the UK by 2025. Most significantly, it has demonstrated that there is no shame in going to a discount supermarket. Not only has this led other major supermarkets to renew their focus on value (as seen with Tesco’s discount rival Jack’s), it has arguably changed the sociology of shopping in Britain for good.

McCann UK has played a big role in shifting perceptions of Aldi and the quality of its goods since it first started working with the supermarket in 2004. “Most people reading this were in their first year at primary school when we pitched for Aldi. It all started with a leaflet and eventually grew into Kevin the Carrot and all things Christmassy,” says the agency’s chief creative officer, Dave Price.

The tipping point arguably came post-financial crash, when other supermarkets started increasing their prices in line with inflation in an attempt to maintain profit margins, and Brits of all ilks turned to Aldi and its discount rival Lidl in their droves. Aldi’s 2011 campaign, Like Brands, Only Cheaper, marked the moment when the supermarket truly captured the heart of the nation. The McCann team discovered the ad’s star, 80-something-year-old Jean, while on a road trip around the UK that involved sitting in local cafés, garden centres and Little Chefs in the hope of finding people who were a reflection of real life.

Playing on Brits’ love of a good cuppa and fierce loyalty to their favourite tea brand, the spot sees Jean compare a box of PG Tips to Aldi’s own-brand tea, before declaring that she actually prefers gin. At a time when M&S was all about ‘food porn’ and Sainsbury’s was focusing on its cooking credentials with help from Jamie Oliver, Aldi’s witty spot struck a chord simply by refusing to put “a sheen over real life”, the supermarket’s marketing director Adam Zavalis told Marketing Week.

The results of the campaign speak for themselves: Aldi saw its pre-tax profits surge by 124% to £158 million in 2012, and it attracted a million more shoppers through its doors. The ad also earned the supermarket more than 25 national and international creative and effectiveness awards. “If you can make someone laugh, you’re halfway to being friends. You like the person. Our old lady, Jean, who liked a gin more than a cup of tea, got people thinking about Aldi in a different way. Supermarkets didn’t talk like that, but ordinary people do,” says Price.

A cheeky tone of voice, dry sense of humour and willingness to poke fun at the rest of the brand world have become Aldi’s mainstays when it comes to communicating with its customers, and its latest campaign is no exception. Launched on a billboard in Leicester Square and on social by influencers including Love Island’s Tommy Fury with the wry tagline ‘Aldi’s Just Done It’, the campaign piggybacks on Nike’s iconic slogan to promote the supermarket’s new loungewear range of unisex hoodies, t-shirts, socks and boxers – all of which feature a rainbow-coloured Aldi logo.

“I love the way we can rub up against other brands. Whether it’s food or clothing, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. In the Aldi’s Just Done It case, we wanted to show that you don’t need to pay over the odds to get something cool. Aldi hoodie: £14.99. ‘Big Brand’ hoodie: £64.99! The hoodies and PJs sold out within hours,” says Price.

Aldi’s no-nonsense attitude to marketing is something that the team at McCann has also been looking to bring to the brand’s all-important social media persona of late. “The social side of things is a fairly recent addition,” says Price. “It’s great though. We get to talk in the same tone we established for Aldi’s Like Brands only Cheaper campaign. A little bit cheeky and fun. Like when you’re texting your mates.”

McCann may have only just taken the reins of Aldi’s social accounts, but the move is already paying off in spectacular fashion. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last month, you’ll no doubt have seen the hashtag #FreeCuthbert doing the rounds on Twitter in particular. The social campaign was launched in response to Aldi’s impending legal battle with M&S, after the retailer accused Aldi of infringing the trademark of its iconic chocolate cake and office birthday staple, Colin the Caterpillar, with discount version Cuthbert the Caterpillar.

While intellectual property disputes wouldn’t normally be viewed as a laughing matter, Aldi decided to inject a bit of fun into the caterpillar cake wars with a series of tongue-in-cheek posts that swifly went viral. It started off with some gentle mocking of M&S’ slogan, with Aldi tweeting: ‘This is not just any court case, this is … #FreeCuthbert’, before revealing a ‘packaging update’ that showed Cuthbert locked up in a prison cell, and finishing things off by declaring: ‘Cuthbert has been found GUILTY … of being delicious’.

It’s safe to say that the team behind #FreeCuthbert absolutely nailed the right tone of voice for the occasion – no mean feat coming from a corporate social media account. One of the posts subsequently became the brand’s most-liked in history, and its follower base grew by 13% on Twitter alone. The results are a clear demonstration of the power of a strong agency-client relationship. “The Aldi and McCann team are really tight. We both want the same thing. From the team writing the posts to getting client sign off was so rapid – literally minutes from writing to posting. Not many clients can react like that,” says Price.

While it’s obvious that not every brand would be able to replicate Aldi’s sense of humour with such ease (M&S’ response to the #FreeCuthbert saga fell considerably flatter on social), Price does believe there are lessons that other companies can take from the way that Britain’s funniest supermarket speaks to its customers. “For us, it’s talk like a person, not a brand book,” he says. “Be interesting, be humble, be funny. But most of all, don’t sound like the other supermarkets.”

mccannmanchester.com

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