Did you know that back in 2014 Tesco chose to film its Christmas advert in Wigan? And it was all down to a tweet?
If you’ve never seen the advert, please watch the video below, it will definitely make you smile! And you have already seen it, or if you were there on the night, please watch it again….it will make you smile all over again.
BUT, why did Tesco chose to build that light display (featuring one million LED lights covering a huge 78m long and 7.2m high screen) in front of the store in WIGAN?
Well, take a closer look at the woman in the yellow coat…… it’s me. I am the reason Tesco and all those lights came to Wigan.
It’s a simple story really.
One of my ex-boyfriends lived in Old Swan in Liverpool. I noticed the Tesco there always got the green Christmas hat on the letter ‘O’ on the Tesco sign, but I also noticed our store in Wigan never did. So, in November 2013 I tweeted a picture of our Tesco, with the words “why does Tesco in Wigan never have a Christmas hat?”
It got a few reactions, but I thought nothing of it, until almost a YEAR later, when I was out on a story, (covering the Hillsborough Inquests in Warrington for Capital FM and Heart), when an email arrived from Tesco, asking me to contact them. I rang them, they mentioned the tweet, and said they wanted to meet me.
So, a couple of days later, there I am at the cafe (in Tesco, Wigan of course), with Tesco’s Head of PR and producer from an ad agency in London. After a bit of chat, they both said “Yes, we want to do something with you.”
‘Stay away!’
We swapped numbers, I was duly told to “stay away” from Tesco for the next week, and told I could invite 15 people along for when it was being filmed. They asked for my address, as a chauffeur driven car, (living the high life!) would pick me up and take me to Tesco.
The night arrived, it was a Sunday… I was driven to Tesco, and when I got there, wow! Proper Christmas party feel, about 200 people, a snow globe, reindeer, a Father Christmas, Gospel singers, mulled wine, EVERYTHING Christmas, and a real excitement in the air.
I was taken to the front of the crowd, where there was the giant button you see celebs pressing at Christmas Lights switch-ons, but it was ME pressing it.
Tesco lights up!
It was amazing! A huge screen had been built in front of the Tesco, by the people who did the light shows for the London Olympics. They used one million LED lights, and the show was spectacular… (even the seventh time I pressed the button, they had to film lots of different angles). All that from a tweet.
‘Like the hunt for Cinderella..’
The back stories from this are interesting though. Tesco told me the hunt for me was like trying to find Cinderella! One of their PRs told me how for months, management meetings had started with my tweet on a big screen with the bosses saying “What are we going to do about this?”, then came the question: “Has anyone tried to find her?!”
At that time, I’d worked for quite a few radio stations, and had recently moved to Capital FM in Manchester. Tesco had rung Rock FM, (where I used to work), then Wish FM (where I used to work too), and finally tracked me down , and hey presto, that’s how it happened. Tesco couldn’t private message me on Twitter (now X), as I didn’t follow them, and they didn’t want anyone to know what they were doing.
You've dropped on P.A. I can't stop laughing!!! The Queen of Wigan!!
The ‘Queen of Wigan’
I wasn’t told when the advert was being released, it was a very fast turnaround though, less than two weeks, and the first I knew about it was one Saturday morning when I got a message from one of my radio colleagues, the fabulous Michelle Ponting, who I’ve known for years.
She was at work and sent a text telling me I’d dropped on PA (Press Association which sends stories out to all the media),
Crazy reaction on my Facebook too, PLUS I was trending on Twitter, and also got a tweet from Uncle Joe’s!
My dad…
Another part to this too, is one I don’t really talk about when people mention the advert, as the ad is so joyous and happy, and I don’t want to put people on a downer. But, it is always bittersweet when it pops up on Facebook memories, because at the time my dad was in hospital, very very poorly.
The advert was filmed on a Sunday night. The previous Sunday dad had been put in an induced coma, due to his heart stopping on the operating table. My younger sister and I had been at the hospital every night since, and didn’t even want to go to Tesco for the filming, unless we knew dad had visitors.
Our Uncle Chris said he’d go, so we felt it would be ok to go to Tesco, and also I knew I couldn’t really let them down. During filming my thoughts were with my dad, but I kind of knew what the film crew would be expecting, and honestly, the atmosphere and everything on the Tesco carpark that night was incredible, so happy and lovely, and carried me, and both my sisters. My mum even sat on Santa’s knee at one point.
My dad did get to see the advert, my sis showed it him on a tablet in hospital, and said his face was a picture when he saw the zoom in on Dylan (my gorgeous eldest nephew). But, my dad didn’t see Christmas, and we were with him when they switched his life support off. Worst day of my life.
And apologies for this, I really haven’t meant to bring anyone down, but this is a part of that advert for me. And although I think of my dad every day, when this advert comes round every year, I think of him a bit more, which isn’t a bad thing.
Thank you.
An added part to this, as this really meant a lot. The team from Tesco and the ad agency messaged me every week to see how my dad was. When he died, they sent me some beautiful flowers, with sea holly in, which we’d actually chosen for dad’s funeral flowers (they didn’t know that). But it was a really thoughtful and kind gesture.
And this is probably the most personal public thing I’ve written about my dad. All from starting a piece about a Tesco advert being filmed in Wigan.
I don’t think it’s bad thing to talk about my dad, and grief either. See, there are always positives.
Thank you for reading, Claire x
If you have a story you’d like to share, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
