Watch the full ad here:

Sophie's thoughts:

"When asked about iconic advertising, it’s easy to remember the high impact edits or elaborate Christmas spectacles. When I was studying media, we were constantly searching for subliminal meanings, analysing the minute details to determine what made an ad successful. Yet Aldi's 'Tea' ad stands out as timeless by proving that sometimes the most impactful campaigns are born from sheer simplicity.

Featuring Jean – a deadpan, gin-loving, northern nan, the genius lies in its unpretentiousness. As the creative director joked, the production was "one step above a hostage video", (poor Jean!), there’s little to nothing to analyse – and yet here I am trying!

With a huge challenge of convincing a nation of tea drinking Brits to ditch brand loyalties and opt for their cheaper alternative, they didn't rely on piano pushing chimps, celebrity endorsements, or an earworm jingle. Instead, they embraced quirky humour, casting real people with regional accents and created an instant, relatable connection with audiences.

Topping a YouGov survey it was voted ad of the decade for the 2010s (even beating Red Bull lobbing a bloke from the edge of space!). Aldi demonstrated that a good idea trumps blockbuster production and reminds us that sometimes, the most effective way to capture public attention isn't through complex subliminal signals, but through a simple, memorable concept.

… Or maybe I just enjoy it because much like Jean “I don’t like tea, I like gin”.