Trending PR Campaigns
Sainsbury’s BFG Christmas advert
For its third Christmas advert starring the BFG, Sainsbury’s sends colleague Annie on a journey through Giant Country with a van full of festive food for the flu-struck giant. The story gives the familiar character a fresh seasonal mission: making sure nobody misses out on Christmas, while also supporting the retailer’s Comic Relief partnership and food-poverty fundraising.
Why it worked: It fused nostalgic IP (BFG) with a hard-timed media moment (1 November TV launch) and a measurable social-good pledge (Comic Relief meals), giving editors a seasonal story with stakes.
The lesson: Consider pairing a beloved cultural icon with a concrete, time-bound charity target and a specific broadcast moment to force timely coverage.
Coverage over time
How this story spread across the media
| Publication | Headline | Date |
|---|---|---|
| campaignlive.co.uk | Sainsbury's set to make it three Christmas ads in a row for the BFG | Campaign UK | Thursday 8th October, 2026 |
| campaignlive.co.uk | Sainsbury’s brings BFG’s Christmas in from his cold in third outing for character | Campaign UK | Sunday 1st November, 2026 |
| marketingweek.com | Sainsbury’s on keeping the BFG fresh in a fragmented media world | Sunday 1st November, 2026 |
| mirror.co.uk | Sainsbury's Christmas ad sees BFG star opposite real-life employee in new festive adventure - AOL | Sunday 1st November, 2026 |
| thegrocer.co.uk | The BFG returns in Sainsbury’s Christmas advert 2026 | Sunday 1st November, 2026 |
| creativeboom.com | Christmas ads of 2026: our rolling round-up of the best | Creative Boom | Sunday 1st November, 2026 |
| retailgazette.co.uk | Watch: Sainsbury’s brings back BFG for third Christmas advert | Monday 2nd November, 2026 |
| creativereview.co.uk | Sainsbury’s welcomes back the BFG for a festive adventure | Monday 2nd November, 2026 |