Photo: McKann UK / Aldi
For many people, it doesn’t feel like Christmas is coming until Coca-Cola debuts its iconic Coca-Cola truck ad. The tradition has been around for some 20 years, and now supermarket chain Aldi is looking to capitalize on it, too.
It’s doing so by getting a head start from Coke, by using its famous truck. The other day, Aldi previewed 40 seconds of its Christmas ad and, to people’s surprise, it features a truck that very much looks like the one we’re used to seeing in those Coca-Cola ads.
In fact, if you check out the video at the bottom of the page, this mistake is actually encouraged by the ad: it’s only seconds in the ad that we see the truck in full, with “Kevin the Carrot” written on the side.
Twitter users rushed to accuse Aldi of being lazy and blatantly ripping off a rival company just to get a head start with the Christmas promotion. While that could still be partially true, Aldi says that what they’re doing is not stealing, but rather satirizing.
“Our Christmas advertising campaigns are famous for capturing the excitement and anticipation of the festive season in a fun way. This year is no exception, using a sense of humor and Kevin the Carrot to capture the magic of families preparing for Christmas,” Aldi writes on Twitter.
In other words, viewers expected to see the Coca-Cola truck to know that Christmas is coming and that’s what Aldi gave them. But there’s a twist – and the twist is that the truck is actually a different one.
For what it’s worth, Coke isn’t upset at the similarity between the 2 Christmas-themed vehicles. If anything, they seem to appreciate Aldi’s tribute or whatever else they want to call it, reaching out to them on Twitter to say they’re there for Kevin the Carrot, if he needs a helping hand. You’ll understand what that means if you watch the video, (literal) cliff-hanger and all.
In fact, if you check out the video at the bottom of the page, this mistake is actually encouraged by the ad: it’s only seconds in the ad that we see the truck in full, with “Kevin the Carrot” written on the side.
Twitter users rushed to accuse Aldi of being lazy and blatantly ripping off a rival company just to get a head start with the Christmas promotion. While that could still be partially true, Aldi says that what they’re doing is not stealing, but rather satirizing.
“Our Christmas advertising campaigns are famous for capturing the excitement and anticipation of the festive season in a fun way. This year is no exception, using a sense of humor and Kevin the Carrot to capture the magic of families preparing for Christmas,” Aldi writes on Twitter.
In other words, viewers expected to see the Coca-Cola truck to know that Christmas is coming and that’s what Aldi gave them. But there’s a twist – and the twist is that the truck is actually a different one.
For what it’s worth, Coke isn’t upset at the similarity between the 2 Christmas-themed vehicles. If anything, they seem to appreciate Aldi’s tribute or whatever else they want to call it, reaching out to them on Twitter to say they’re there for Kevin the Carrot, if he needs a helping hand. You’ll understand what that means if you watch the video, (literal) cliff-hanger and all.
Kevin is back, but this time it’s a cliff hanger. #SaveKevin pic.twitter.com/awknlYjJa0
— Aldi Ireland (@Aldi_Ireland) November 2, 2018
We are ready if you need us, Kevin #SaveKevin #Holidaysarecoming … Uš pic.twitter.com/6HtTC46XWS
— Coca-Cola GB (@CocaCola_GB) November 2, 2018
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