Brief Explanation

The northern hemisphere version of Christmas is the traditional one. It's about snowmen, staying indoors out of the cold and eating rich warming food. Our Christmas rituals, imagery, and songs are born of dreams of falling snowflakes, evergreen trees and crackling fireplaces. In Australia, Christmas is very different. It's about playing backyard cricket on summer afternoons; relaxing in the sunshine with a crisp white wine, and enjoying the great outdoors. There are still turkeys, and puddings, and carols, but the mood is more light and laughter than cosy and sentimental. ALDI's Christmas campaign celebrates this difference. It shows all the great things about an Aussie Christmas through the eyes of a man named Johan. He has returned to his small snow-covered village of Julbacken after a trip to Australia. He brings with him strange tales of the summer Christmas, to the bemusement of the skeptical and traditional villagers. As time goes on, the villagers begin to warm to Johan's new ideas. It's his introduction of ALDI's 'Specially Selected' premium Christmas product range that eventually wins over even the toughest of critics. It all proves that thanks to ALDI, the perfect Christmas, is in fact, the Perfect Aussie Christmas.

Creative Execution

The following commercial feels like a documentary that’s been filmed in a tiny European Village. The people wear traditional clothing and speak with thick accents as they try their hand at a new way to experience Christmas. One where the weather is fantastic, time is spent outdoors, and thanks to ALDI’s Specially Selected range, the food is fresh and bountiful. We open on an icy landscape where a young man is chopping wood. We see villagers shaking their heads. Cut to Johan pulling a sled, the village is in the background. We cut back to the village where a girl hanging the washing. She speaks in another language – we super “it’s Johan”, “he has a surfing table” We see Johan with his sled in the background. The people of Julbacken have always been a skeptical bunch, but never more so than the time Johan returned from Australia. We cut to see the village in a meeting hall, with Johan trying to convince them of new ideas. There is a lot of skepticism on their faces. Accept for a pretty girl who has eyes for Johan. He told them strange tales of a warm Christmas from a foreign land… but not all of them made sense at first. We cut to a group of people struggling to play cricket in the snow. They wave bats and stumps around more like Vikings rather than cricketers. One of them sniffs the cricket box and one hits a mate with the bat, who falls down. Some proved to be more challenging than others. Next we see some men bravely stand around in their budgie smugglers and wear woolen versions of life-saver caps while we see one of the villagers dressed in the same Santa outfit as the previous Surfing Santa campaign, sitting in the icy water on a surfboard. The leader yells out to one man who is getting changed. “Christoph! Hurry up and smuggle the budgie, it’s time for the dippings!” We cut to see Johan putting a sign on a door – saying Duni. We cut to see 3 men walking in the snow with a surfboard, a local wooden board and an ironing board. In the town square Johan and the pretty girl are talking. In the background is a slip and slide with children squealing in delight. We share an intimate moment with Johan and the pretty girl. She says: The children really love the slip and slid Johan. We see one of the young men of the village is not happy with Johan’s new ideas. We cut to inside an old church where the village elders are meeting. An angry elder speaks in another language and we super “Something must be done about Johan” We cut do a group of villagers walking to confront Johan. They arrive at a door where Johan is holding a party. Johan answers the door with a prawn in his hand. One of the village elders speaking in another language says. “We’ve had enough of your Aussie Summer Christmas” The prawn is so tempting the village elder tastes and proclaims “it’s good”. ALDI food has won them over, so they join the party. We are now in the courtyard where Johan’s party is going on with tables laden with ALDI Specially Selected Foods. Johan with a plate of Turkey joins the party. We see Lobster Tails on the BBQ and a large spread of ALDI food on the table. As time grew, they warmed to Johan’s new ideas. His introduction of ALDI’s Specially Selected Range got the locals to thinking… perhaps the perfect Christmas, is in fact, The Perfect Aussie Christmas. One old man is baffled as he studies a delicious looking ALDI Christmas pudding. Where on earth did he find such a delight? An old guy is asleep in the chair. An old guy is waxing a surfboard with a candle. Our last shot is one of the angry villagers sneaking in a small cake not wanting to get caught. Super: ALDI. Specially Selected for The Perfect Aussie Christmas. aldi.com.au/christmas