The best, worst and oddest Easter campaigns

The Best

Cadbury

Cadbury has gone all out this year to capitalise on the late Easter. From its Crème Egg TV adverts to its annual Easter Egg hunt, the chocolate maker has once again tried to introduce novel ways of generating publicity around the period. It has teamed up with “Great British Bake Off” winner Frances Quinn to create two Easter recipes using its Cadbury Mini Eggs.

B&Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt98uhqy4v0

The Easter weekend heralds the start of Spring, a time when consumers reach for their tool belts and tape measures for a spot of DIY. B&Q took the opportunity to launch its quirky £10m marketing campaign and introduce the tagline “Unleash the B&Q in you”. Soundtracked to eighties hit “The Power” by Snap, the WCRS-created ad features various customers of shapes and sizes transforming into the retailer’s famous orange aprons as if they were superheroes.

Morrisons and Sainsbury’s

Morrisons is pushing its fish offer after claiming over 63 per cent of people consider eating seafood on Good Friday. Not to be outdone, Sainsbury’s is taking on chocolate giants like Cadbury and Nestle by promoting its own-label eggs for £1. The promotions are expected to help deliver a sales rebound in April as shoppers pick up their usual Easter holiday purchases. Despite improving economic forecasts, times are still tight for shopeprs, therefore the swathe of promotions are likely to be greeted with open arms.

Mini

The car brand has kicked off an Iris Worldwide-created campaign that hopes to keep the kids entertained this Easter as well as the big kids. Mini has hidden eggs in various cars at its dealerships across the UK, so that when parents are discussing potential purchases their children can hunt them out. Once they find an egg, they will peel back the sticker to reveal one of five offers, from money off to a mystery prize, which they can redeem if they purchase the car.

The Worst

Tesco

The under pressure retailer is inviting shoppers to use Google Street View technology to find thousands of virtual Easter eggs to be in with a chance of winning chocolate treats. Additionally, 40 golden eggs have been hidden with Tesco using its Twitter profile to feed clues to players. It sounds like a fun idea but we can’t help think that its customers are really clamoring for value and in-store promotions over the weekend.

Asda

Speaking of Easter Egg hunts, Asda has resurrected last year’s quest across almost 400 stores over the holiday period. The virtual hunt lets shoppers use their smarpthones in stores to find the three friends of the Easter Bunny; Lamb, Chick and Pink Bunny. It must have had a good impact last year for Asda to bring it back, however, as with Tesco its hard to imagine shoppers prioritising the hunt while racing around stores to get their shopping done.

And the Odd

Asda (again)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsY8nb_1Zb8

Asda’s attempts to give shoppers something to cheer about over Easter extend to its latest TV ad. It features a “funky’ dancing chick grooving away to eighties disco classic “Funky Town”. The chick moonwalks, slides and taps away to the tune, promoting the supermarket’s Price Guarantee that “customers will always be 10 per cent better off at Asda”. It is not a stinker but it feels as though as its been beaten in the cute and quirky sweepstakes by a certain singing cat.

Lidl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmFSBnHwGFw

Lidl has hopped on the Easter bandwagon with a puzzling effort it hopes will show the breadth of products it has an offer this Easter. The advert opens on a tense dinner between a couple where a woman reveals to her partner that she has been having an affair. The man ignores the revelation and voices his amazement at “all this stuff” she has bought from Lidl, including a “three bird roast, “honey-glazed parsnips and Prosecco”. Credit to Lidl for trying something different but the effort feels very un-Easter.