"Barnsley Baby"

7 July 2025

30s

Northern roots.

There's nothing showy about Lucky Generals' debut work for Asda as the emphasis, right out of the gate, is on the retailer's excellent value when it comes to the prices paid by its customers. This is wise. Normally a new agency tries something distinctive only to be inevitably dragged back towards the core messaging favoured by the supermarket after a few executions.

This campaign won't need to be dragged anywhere, as that messaging is embedded from the get go. That's not to say agency and director Brad Lubin have completely jettisoned creative flair... it's just that it's all contained in a single gag that's delivered in just one-and-a-half of its thirty seconds. It's cutely done though, and a great decision from whoever decided there should be zero reaction to the baby's curiously incongruous voice.

The accents in the ad offer a subtle reminder of Asda's northern roots. This will remind punters from that part of the world that Asda is 'their' supermarket, while further emphasising the value message to southern punters, who have an expectation that everything is cheaper in the north.

This is a campaign that's going to play out much better with the public than it does with awards juries, and that

should please the client no end... after all, they ought to much more concerned about the drop in market share suffered as Lidl and Aldi turn their toehold into a foothold than they are with the possibility they've commissioned a piece of advertising that pleases the pretentious sensibilities of advertising award juries.

UK

Supermarkets