Tesco Launches Food Love Stories Campaign, customers to take part

Tesco has launched the next stage of its Food Love Stories campaign featuring real members of the public dedicating the food they love to the people they love.

As part of the campaign, Tesco is also asking customers to film and dedicate their own Food Love Story and share it on social media using the hashtag #FoodLoveStories.

The film, which will first air at 9pm tonight on ITV, is supported by a digital out-of-home campaign that heroes dedications to key workers up and down the country.

“We’ve been celebrating Food Love Stories – the food people love to make, for the people they love – for more than three years. So, during these uncertain times, it is really encouraging to see people turning to cooking to help bring them closer to family and friends, be that in real life or virtually,” says Tesco’s chief customer officer Alessandra Bellini.

“While we may not all be able to physically be together at the moment, many are finding comfort in cooking recipes passed down through generations and we are delighted to see how families are finding themselves cooking and eating together more, ensuring these special dishes will continue to hold a special place.”

According to new research from Tesco, undertaken as part of the campaign, 40% of Brits believe that staying at home and cooking from scratch during the lockdown has reignited their passion for cooking, while 89% say they intend to continue to cook when the crisis ends.

The research also found the average person cooked four to six meals per week from scratch prior to lockdown, which works out at less than one meal a day. Now, however, the average person is cooking between 17 and 21 meals per week – four times the amount they used to.

When it comes to food inspiration, 41% of Britons cook family recipes passed down through generations, with mums being the biggest source of inspiration in the kitchen.

The campaign, which was created with longstanding agency BBH and turned around in under 10 days, is the second ad Tesco has launched this week in response to Covid-19.

The earlier spot shows a family coming together via video call to cook their grandmother’s infamous Easter lamb. This was created after research showed that online searches for ‘recipes’ have increased dramatically in the UK since the country went into lockdown, while downloads of apps such as Houseparty, Zoom and Skype have more than doubled.

As well as looking to inspire, Tesco’s communications have also aimed to inform customers about changes to shopping in its stores during the pandemic. Its ‘Keeping you safe’ advert, launched at the end of March, highlighted the measures the retailer put in place to protect customers and staff such as car park marshals, queue markers and one-way aisles.

SOURCE: ELLEN HAMMETT