AdMiration feature: Tesco’s "Celebrating 30 years of rewards with Tesco Clubcard”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Tesco’s "Celebrating 30 years of rewards with Tesco Clubcard” ad, which celebrates 30 years of Clubcard rewards for customers.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a shot of a Tesco checkout lane with shoppers and big, green digital clock style numbers “1995” across the screen. The scene zooms in on a couple checking out when the Tesco employee asks, “Sign up for a new Clubcard?” to which the man (after looking to his wife) replies, “Oh a new Clubcard?...No.” His wife then notices their neighbors and their kids in the store as they’ve just finished enrolling for the new Tesco Clubcard. Her husband notices and shouts over, “Couldn’t resist?” The other man agrees as his wife states, “Oh, you know him!” 

Time skips and it’s now on the cusp of the year 2000. As you hear, “Sandstorm” by Darude softly start to play, the couple who did not get the Clubcard are staring out the window as their neighbors are unloading dozens of Tesco grocery bags. They noticed the other neighbors and hold up some of the bags, exclaiming, "Got money off! With Clubcard!" The curtain closes and the other couple stare at each other incredulously.   

It’s now 2004 and the couple who did not get a Clubcard are back at a Tesco checkout, when the employee asks, ”Do you have a Club…”, “Card?,” the man finishes, “No thanks, we’re alright.” The scene pans to a large table at a restaurant, when a waitress stops by to ask, “How do you want to pay?” The majority of the table laugh and say, “Clubcard!” while the man who never enrolled sighs and says, “Card, I suppose” as he pays.      

It’s 2008 and the man who never enrolled is yet again at a Tesco checkout, when an employee asks, “Clubcard?” to which the man, increasingly annoyed at the question, replies, “No thanks!” “You can get money off travel,” the employee happily responds. The man is then transported to a ship on the ocean as his neighbor comes up behind him and screams, “Clubcard!” ripping him back to reality, as he repeats, “No thanks.” When he gets home, his neighbors are leaving to go on “another trip” thanks to Clubcard, which kicks off a montage of photos from all the trips they go on henceforth. 

Time flashes forwards again and it's now 2015 and the couple who did not get the Clubcard are watching videos on social media of their neighbors, apparent travel influencers, share their latest trips thanks to Clubcard. Thunder claps and the room goes dark as the man says, “If I hear Club…” “Card?” a Tesco employee asks as the man finds himself at another Tesco checkout in the year 2025 — this time, with a Clubcard! 

With a pained expression he looks at his wife and says, “I just wanted the rewards.” She responds by grabbing his face and kissing him. The song plays at full volume as the words “Go on, reward yourself” appear on screen, as well as a confetti burst with the words “30 years of rewards” above a Tesco Clubcard. 

3 facts

• Teso’s ad performed exceptionally well with consumers, landing in the top 30% of UK ads for sales impact (Sales Impact: 73) and the top 10% for brand impact (Brand Impact: 91). This spot performed even higher among males who scored the sales impact at 85 and brand impact at 98.

• The ad effectively communicated who the ad was for, receiving an above average brand recall score (79% vs. 72% norm) as well as distinctiveness score (3.8 vs. 3.7 norm). 50% of people shared that they knew it could only be an ad for Tesco from the repeated reference of “Clubcard, ” as well as the placement of their logo (21%) and the uniforms (7%) — all excellent cues for the brand. 

• The story clearly communicates the value of Tesco’s rewards program by humorously showing what the protagonist is missing out on (68% take away the loyalty program idea). The ad also nicely communicates that Tesco is “for everyone” (48%).

2 learnings

• An ad can be long and still captivate its audience. At nearly 1 minute and 30 seconds long (when ads typically run for 30 seconds) this spot certainly requires viewers to settle in. But if done right, a longer ad can still entertain and capture an audience’s attention. This ad taps into a human nature we really relate to: the stubbornness of not signing up for a new rewards card! Tesco does a fantastic job at making every moment count to keep the audience engaged, by showing how long it took for one family to give in through bursts of humor over the years as the other family is shown clearly reaping the benefits of having a Clubcard. And even after 90 seconds, the ad ends on a high with viewers as the man gives in and signs up — being rewarded with both a Clubcard and a kiss from his wife!

• Sometimes it’s better to implicitly deliver your message than explicitly share it. In this case, Tesco did a great job at showing the true value of their Clubcard as the spot took viewers on a journey of one family who used the Clubcard (and all the savings and adventures they experienced because of it) and a family who hadn’t signed up over the years — implicitly sharing all the benefits of having a Clubcard and the FOMO you would feel without it. 

1 reflection

How will you plan to celebrate an upcoming milestone for your brand? While there is a right way to do it, there’s no one right way to do it. Last week, for example, Miller Lite celebrated a milestone by recognizing 50 years of good times with the brand over the years, featuring vintage photographs and great tunes. For this week’s ad, Tesco also tapped into nostalgia and music to celebrate 30 years of their Clubcard, but also added some humor into the mix with a narrative that sucks you in (which made sense for this particular spot, as it was much longer than Miller Lite’s). 

But there was one consistent aspect: both brands brought the consumer into the heart of the story. So however you choose to celebrate, it’s always worth making sure you’re bringing your consumers into the story in some way — in this case, celebrating all the savings they've made and fun times (like during the holidays) they've had by sticking with Tesco over the 30 years.  

In celebration of Tesco’s Clubcard turning 30, the retail brand has launched a new campaign with BBH London that reminds the nation of just how rewarding the membership can be while leaning into three decades of nostalgia.

Directed by Sam de Jong at Iconoclast, the spot takes viewers on a journey of the last 30 years of the brand and their Clubcard as well as UK popular culture. To achieve this, the ad follows two sets of neighbors: one couple who signed up for Tesco Clubcard in 1995, and the other a couple who resisted the urge to sign up and is seen missing out on all the wonderful rewards the Clubcard had to offer over the years. 

Ashwin Prasad, Chief Commercial Officer at Tesco, shares, “Clubcard has always been about giving our customers more and giving Clubcard members even more is how we plan to celebrate 30 years of Clubcard. Weʼre celebrating three decades of rewards with a year packed with amazing deals, discounts and offers that are all about giving our customers even more.ˮ

Natalie Cummins, CEO of EssenceMediacon, the media buyer for this campaign, adds, “We are thrilled to kickstart this celebratory year of Clubcard turning 30. In 2025 Clubcard will continue its generosity and celebrate three decades of being the UKs leading loyalty programme.”

In addition to this spot, the retail brand will be releasing a wider campaign that spans audio, OOH, print, social and digital, which will highlight exciting special rewards and offers available exclusively to Clubcard holders in 2025. 

Tesco did a fantastic job at not only celebrating 30 years of their rewards program, but also communicating its value. This spot performed exceptionally well with consumers, landing in the top 30% of UK ads for sales impact (Sales Impact: 73) and the top 10% for brand impact (Brand Impact: 91).

It's worth noting that the ad performed even better among males, interestingly the gender of the main protagonist in the story, with a sales impact score of 85 and brand impact score of 98.

People knew it was an ad for Tesco right off the bat, from the mention of their Clubcard (50%), the uniforms (7%) and strategically placed logo (21%) throughout the ad. Because of this, it’s no surprise that the ad received such a high brand recall score (79% vs. 72% norm), with people saying things like "Loved seeing the uniforms from years ago! Also seeing what you can do with your Tesco clubcard points" and "Advert is clear and unique to the brand."

The message also came across very clearly to viewers, with most sharing that the value of the Tesco rewards program was clear (4.3 vs. 4.0 norm) and believable (4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) as well as distinct (3.8 vs. 3.7 norm). 

But more than that, viewers found the ad to be relevant to them and met their needs, with both far surpassing the norm (Relevance: 3.7 vs. 3.4 norm, Brand meets needs: 4.0 vs. 3.8 norm). It was very clear and easy to understand (4.4 vs 4.1 norm) the message Tesco was trying to convey about the value of their rewards card, done in a humorous and entertaining way, by showing what the man is missing out on (68% get the loyalty program) but also implicitly communicating that it's for everyone (48%).

And viewers were entertained! They found the ad to be very enjoyable and fun, with 20% of viewers spontaneously mentioning that they like the humor and 37% of people finding it to be warm and appealing. 

They also loved the storytelling and found it highly relatable (the stubbornness and how difficult it is to give in and change your mind), enjoyed watching the passing of time, seeing the man getting older and older, the nostalgia and the man finally accepting a Clubcard at the end. Overall, people see it as a true to life story unfolding.

With a 15% laughter score (compared to an 8% norm) it's no surprise that the overall emotion score for this spot was nearly ten points above the norm. Viewers thoroughly enjoyed this ad, kicking it all off with a lot of “Like” reactions  as viewers realize the ad is set in the past. The laughter begins to increase as the music starts and the neighbor is introduced — with a spike of laughter as protagonist declines Clubcard the second time, another spike of laughter as he pays with a regular credit card at dinner when everyone else is paying with clubcard and another when he daydreams about travel. Finally the “Love” reaction shoots up at the end when he accepts the Clubcard and his wife kisses him.

This format was a great way to keep the audience’s attention throughout the spot, even though it was on the longer side. 

Here’s what some people had to say about the ad:

• "I liked that it showed the rewards that you can possibly get / afford through Tesco. It was conveyed extremely well through all the activities and joy in the neighbours, compared to how droll and dour the main family always seemed."

• "I liked the way the man got older and older in every clip, spanning 30 years. I liked the scene during the millennium. I loved the music."

• "I liked seeing the couple see their neighbours enjoying tesco rewards and still not getting a clubcard because it was funny."

• "Loved seeing the uniforms from years ago! also seeing what you can do with your Tesco clubcard points."

• "It was fast flowing and obvious message from the start ,making fun of people who stick to their beliefs, even though they can see other people benefiting."

• "Advert is clear and unique to the brand."

This humorous, FOMO-filled and celebratory ad from Tesco made viewers feel good and let out some laughs all while cleverly celebrating 30 years of the Clubcard. What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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