The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2016–2022
Aldi turns a 3p carrot into Kevin — UK's favourite Christmas ad, Euro Effie Grand 2017
Aldi made an overlooked 3p carrot its Christmas spokesman; sales rose 15.1% YoY and Kevin won the 2017 Euro Effie Grand.
Aldi UK & Ireland
What it had to solve
Aldi's discount strengths were growing the business about 10% a year through new stores, but Christmas was where shoppers became disloyal and traded 'up and out' to rivals. The one business objective set by the team was to beat Aldi's own Christmas 2015 sales, proving the marketing, not just the store openings, worked.
How it works
Christmas was Aldi's weak spot: shoppers who are loyal all year trade 'up and out' to rival stores in December, and the discount giant was up against blockbuster seasonal ads from John Lewis and Coca-Cola. Aldi needed a holiday strategy that would break through the noise — and one simple business objective, beating its own 2015 Christmas sales.
The idea came from Aldi's 'Everyday Amazing' platform: Christmas turns everyday things — your house, your dinner — into something special, so the brand should do the same. McCann Manchester chose the humblest, most overlooked item Aldi sells, a 3p carrot, and turned it into Kevin the Carrot, a spokesman who could showcase all the amazing unexpected things Aldi stocks at Christmas.
After five days of teasing, Aldi launched Kevin with an integrated push across paid social, radio, TV and outdoor. In-store, plush Kevin toys sold with all proceeds going to charities sold out in just half an hour. The campaign helped Aldi surpass every other grocery retailer in the UK in year-on-year sales, delivering 15.1% growth against a market that was barely growing.
Kevin took two trophies at the 2017 Euro Effie Awards, including the Grand Effie, and returned each Christmas — joined by Katie in 2017 — becoming the UK's most loved Christmas advertising ahead of John Lewis and M&S. A 2023 WARC Awards for Effectiveness Bronze later credited the six-year run with making Aldi Britain's favourite Christmas advertising.
Why it lands
- The character came from a real product truth — a 3p carrot — so the joke belonged to Aldi's own brand rather than an imported idea.
- Choosing the humblest item inverted the arms race of Christmas ad spending: cheap, ownable and endlessly reusable year after year.
- A five-day tease followed by an integrated paid social, radio, TV and outdoor push built anticipation and reach across the whole season.
- Selling plush Kevin toys with proceeds to charity turned the character into in-store theatre and goodwill in a single move.
- The business number was the point: 15.1% YoY growth, the highest of any UK grocery retailer, proved effectiveness rather than just fame.
What it did
Aldi achieved 15.1% year-on-year sales growth, the highest of any UK grocery retailer, beating the objective set against its own 2015 Christmas. Kevin became the UK's most loved Christmas campaign, ahead of John Lewis and M&S in social conversation, and the work took two trophies at the 2017 Euro Effie Awards including the Grand Effie, with the character returning every Christmas for years.
What you can take
You don't need a giant budget to outshout the giants: a cheap, ownable character built on a real product truth gave Aldi a distinctive asset it re-used every Christmas.
Since then
Kevin the Carrot became a British Christmas institution. He returned in 2017 with Katie, and the follow-up won UK Effie Gold in retail and Silver in seasonal marketing, with Aldi named joint Most Effective Marketer of the Year alongside John Lewis. Social analysis showed Aldi's commercials were the UK's favourite Christmas campaign, beating M&S's Paddington Bear and John Lewis's Moz the Monster. In 2023 the six-year run was recognised with a Bronze at the WARC Awards for Effectiveness, credited with making Aldi Britain's favourite Christmas advertising.
Sources
- Winner Spotlight: Aldi Stores & McCann UK, 'Kevin the Carrot'
- Aldi UK: Kevin Versus John – How a humble carrot usurped a national treasure to win the UK's Christmas ad crown
- McCann UK's Aldi Team Claims Top Effie Honours Again
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