Tesco Ireland Captures The Magic of Christmas

Helping Christmas Feel Magic by BBH Dublin tells the story of a boy who suspects a Tesco colleague is an elf in disguise

By Creative Salon

02 November 2026

When everyone’s telling you how magic Christmas is, how do you actually make it feel magical?

It’s this feeling that Tesco Ireland captures in its latest Christmas campaign from BBH Dublin, the brand’s first standalone festive spot in over a decade.

Launching today, ‘Helping Christmas Feel Magic’ is designed to showcase the joy of Christmas, and Tesco’s real-life Santa’s helpers, through the eyes of one little boy.

The humorous and touching TV ad tells the story of a young boy who becomes convinced that a colleague at his local Tesco is an elf.

The boy’s imagination takes flight after witnessing the Tesco colleague doing lots of helpful deeds and, after gathering all kinds of clues, he concludes that something magical must be going on.

In reality, the Tesco colleague is just doing his job. But while everyone else sees a colleague at work, the boy appears to see something magical.

The spot is a reminder to us all to take a minute this Christmas to look at the world through the eyes of a child and recapture some of that festive magic.

The ad, directed by Elliot Power through Love Song and Assembly, shines a light on the thousands of real-life colleagues who help customers in countless ways across Ireland. It marks a shift away from traditional seasonal brand messaging to show how Tesco actually helps its customers to make Christmas feel magic, reinforcing the ‘Every Little Helps’ brand platform launched earlier in the year.

Naomi Kasolowsky, Customer Director at Tesco Ireland said: “Christmas is about creating special moments that families remember. At Tesco, we know that making those moments happen takes lots of little helps. This campaign is a celebration of our colleagues and the part they play in helping Christmas feel magic for families across Ireland.”

Marcos Gemal, ECD of BBH Dublin said: “Christmas isn’t magical by accident. It’s built by thousands of small acts of help that happen behind the scenes. In Ireland, nobody does more of that unseen work than the Tesco colleagues. They’re not elves. But if you’re six years old and paying attention, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.”

The ad was shot across two local Tesco stores, Tesco Naas Extra and Tesco Celbridge while the music is an original composition by revered composer Miink through Curation Music, transporting the story even further into enchanted territory.

The campaign OOH also leans into the ‘magical theme’ with special builds including a giant recreation of one of the key storytelling elements of the ad: the boy’s Granny’s ‘Wild Elves of Ireland’ book. The book was lovingly crafted and brought to life by the Irish illustrator Kitty Moss. It contains all the ‘clues’ that set the boy off on his quest to discover whether the Tesco colleague is, in fact, an elf.

The campaign is supported by a range of magical activations and giveaways for consumers, including sampling, ‘Head Elf’ badges for store managers and a partnership with the Late Late Toy Show, airing on Friday 4th December 2026.

‘Helping Christmas Feel Magic’ runs across social, OOH, activation, print and special builds, as well as the TV ad, from 2nd November to 25th December.

Credits:

Campaign Title: ‘Helping Christmas Feel Magic’

Client credits: Tesco Ireland

Customer Director: Naomi Kasolowsky

Head of Brand Marketing: Katie Cunningham

Brand Marketing Manager: Cara Millaney

Advertising agency: BBH Dublin

CCO, London & Dublin: Felipe Serradourada Guimarães

Executive Creative Director: Marcos Gemal

Associate Creative Director: Frances O’Rourke

Creatives: Jemma Burgess & Gemina Gil Flores

Designer: Harriet Yakub