Asda launches mock-Budget promotion campaign

The TV ad launches today, coinciding with the Budget, and mimics the iconic scenes traditionally seen outside 11 Downing Street on Budget day, with an Asda mum, as "Chancellor of the Checkout", holding a red lunch box in one hand.

Shot on the steps outside the front door of a typical terraced house, the campaign highlights the fact that the supermarket is locking the prices of "essentials" for a minimum of 12 weeks, and maintains that Asda mums can continue to remain optimistic in times of austerity.

Stephen Smith, chief marketing officer at Asda, said: "Although the ad is tongue-in-cheek, playing on the iconic red Budget box image, at the heart of the advert and Price Lock campaign is a very serious message.

"As the UK wakes up to a sense of uncertainty ahead of today's Budget, I hope that with our latest campaign, we can give mums a little certainty at a time when their budget are being stretched to the limit."

The mock-budget TV campaign will run today and tomorrow, and will be followed by a fresh iteration of ad in April. It will be supported by a press campaign.

The launch of the campaign comes amid a heated price battle between the major supermarkets. Yesterday, Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King hit out at Tesco's rival price-match scheme.

Price Lock is an extension of the £100m investment made in 2012 by Asda to reduce prices on items such as butter and milk.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk