Staff force Sainsbury’s to recut ad

Sainsbury’s has suffered an embarrassing hiccup with its new TV ad starring John Cleese after the supermarket’s own staff complained it made them look foolish.

The “Value to Shout About” ad, which broke on September 23, is one of a series of four featuring Cleese and highlighting low prices.

Playing a character similar to Basil Fawlty , the comedian attempts to goad staff into communicating the supermarket’s value message with antics including manic outbursts and song-and-dance routines.

But the agency which created the ad, Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, was asked to recut the commercial to focus more tightly on Cleese.

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman confirms a new cut will be aired. She says four cuts of the first ad were made, but she did not to know whether the changes would also have an impact on the next three executions.