"30 Years of Clubcard"

17 February 2025

87s

Non-buyer's remorse

Tesco celebrates thirty years of its loyalty card scheme by portraying a couple who decided it was not for them back in 1995, only to watch the rewards accrue for their gauche neighbour who signs up on day one. The fun of this lies in its depiction of the passage of time... as the years roll by, the styles and the iconography change, and the resolve of the couple remains in place, even as it is eroded by envy.

The approach is verisimilitudinous rather than exact, and the usual tropes are invoked, but it's all been down with a lightness of touch by director Sam de Jong, and enough there's more than enough comedy in the performances to keep it entertaining... and to land its advertising message.

The rewards in question are mostly travel-related, suggesting this is what the public most appreciate when their clubcard points accumulate. We won't dwell on just how much you need to spend at Tesco to attain foreign holidays, but note instead the real message of this ad... if you don't have a clubcard then you're turning your back on free stuff. And who can afford to do that these days?

UK

Supermarkets