Award Winning Wines - Ad Analysis
AI Editor notes
Straight from the gut!!
“This feels like a classic M&S food ad, but for Morrisons. The strategy is textbook: you have a perception problem (people don't think of us for 'good' wine), so you hit them with indisputable proof (awards). It's smart, direct, but a little sterile. It's all 'tell' and no 'feel.' It makes the case for the wine, but doesn't connect it to the moment you'd actually enjoy it.”
Quick Summary
This ad's entire strategy rests on using third-party validation—prestigious industry awards—to reframe Morrisons not just as a place to buy groceries, but as a credible, award-winning destination for high-quality wine. It's a direct attempt to elevate brand perception in a specific, high-margin category by providing customers with a simple, rational reason to believe in the product's quality.
Executive Summary
This Morrisons spot is a masterclass in rational persuasion. At its core, the ad isolates a key business problem: the 'permission to believe.' Supermarket wine aisles are vast and intimidating, and while retailers like Morrisons are known for value, they aren't always the first choice for a 'special' bottle. The campaign's core insight is that for overwhelmed consumers, a credible third-party award is the ultimate shortcut to a confident purchase. It replaces ambiguity with authority.
The execution follows a classic Setup-Turn-Payoff structure. The 'Setup' (0:00-0:20) is all about establishing premium credentials. It doesn't open with the Morrisons brand; it opens with the problem from a position of authority: 'To win... you must sell wines like this.' Through elegant, slow-motion 'product porn'—a style heavily associated with premium food retailer M&S—it showcases three distinct, award-winning wines. The visuals are deliberately generic premium, focusing on the product, not the brand. The 'Turn' (0:21) is the pivotal question, 'But where can you find such a fine collection?' This creates a moment of tension and curiosity. The 'Payoff' (0:23-0:30) delivers the surprise: not a specialty wine shop or a high-end grocer, but 'Morrisons, of course.' The appearance of the uniformed employee, Daniel, grounds the preceding elegance in the accessible reality of a mainstream supermarket. The final shot cements the argument, displaying the 'Supermarket of the Year' award logos like trophies.
The debrief for the team would be clear: using external validation is a powerful tool for repositioning a brand in a specific vertical. The strategy effectively 'borrows' the credibility of the International Wine Challenge to burnish Morrisons' own. It proves that you don't need a massive emotional story to land a precise strategic message. While the ad lacks long-term creative memorability, its direct, evidence-based approach was likely very effective at achieving its short-term goal of getting shoppers to reconsider the Morrisons wine aisle ahead of the key Christmas trading period.
Theme Keywords
Brand Position
The surprisingly expert destination for award-winning wines.
Brand Archetype
The Sage (leaning on expertise and evidence).
Creative Game Plan
Prove Morrisons is the undisputed best supermarket for wine by showcasing prestigious awards and the beautiful products that won them.
Diagnosis: Issues & Solutions
Primary Issue: Emotional Connection
The Problem:
The ad successfully makes a case for the wine's quality but completely fails to connect it to a human experience. It's sterile and product-focused, showing beautiful pours but not the people who will enjoy them. The result is an ad that is respected but not felt.
The Solution:
Bridge the gap between product quality and consumer benefit. A simple final scene showing a couple or friends sharing one of these bottles, enjoying a moment, would have translated the rational 'award-winning' message into an emotional 'worth-it' feeling.
Secondary Issue: Strategic Sense
The Problem:
The ad's core proof point—the 2015 and 2016 awards—gives it a very specific and short shelf-life. While powerful at the time, the message becomes dated the following year, requiring a new campaign or risking looking like the brand is resting on old laurels.
The Solution:
Develop a broader brand platform for the wine category, such as 'Morrisons Makes it Special,' that can be supported by awards when available but isn't wholly dependent on them. This creates a more ownable and enduring brand asset.
Additional Notes
Credits
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