Co-op’s festive spot is the UK’s first live tv advert

UK – Eschewing the usual high-budget campaigns that characterise the Christmas period, British supermarket group Co-op is running the UK's first live tv advert in a bid to highlight food deserts during the festive season.

Celebrating the power of communities to tackle food insecurity, the two-minute advert promotes the efforts of The Community Fridge Network, a charitable organisation that redistributes an average of 2.4 tonnes of food per fridge per month. Hosted by tv personality Dermot O’Leary and rapper Big Zuu, the advert contains a live link to a community fridge in the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association Community Centre in Feltham. Cementing its commitment to the cause, Co-op is pledging to expand the UK's network of fridges from 250 to 500.

Aiming to ensure that no family goes without food during the holidays, Co-op is pioneering a new form of tv advert while helping to bolster community networks. In a reactive and relevant Christmas campaign, Co-op is demonstrating how advertising can be faster to air by meeting the needs and mood of society in a given moment.