There is a young pretender for John Lewis’s Christmas advertising crown thanks to Sainsbury’s brand communications director Mark Given.

Mark Given is winning plaudits for the Sainsbury's Christmas TV ad

Social media is abuzz with the Sainsbury’s advert that tugs at the heartstrings through a portrayal of the British and German forces leaving the trenches to play football during a truce on Christmas Day 1914.

The four-minute version of the advert clocked up more than 1 million YouTube views in under a day. Retailers often pour a great deal of media spend into advertising to bulk up YouTube hits, but Given says traffic to the Sainsbury’s ad is “pretty much all organic”.

Sainsbury's Christmas ad

The public has clearly taken to the ad despite the sensitive subject.

How has Given managed to avoid a backlash against a major corporation using a war where millions of young people lost their lives? He puts it down to very careful planning of the campaign.  

“From day one we were always very conscious with the responsibility we had sharing the story, before committing to it we talked extensively with Royal British Legion about working with them to make sure it was appropriate and respectful,” says Given.

No stone was left unturned in the campaign’s preparation. The badges on the uniforms in the ad are historically accurate and represent the regiments involved in the truce, while the biscuit featured is made from a recipe from the First World War era.

That is in tune with the view of ad agency AMV.BBDO chief strategy officer Craig Mawdsley, who has worked on the Sainsbury’s account for a decade, and credits Given with having a “very smart and very instinctive reaction to creative ides”.

The making of Sainsbury's Christmas ad

Given also oversaw Sainsbury’s Christmas in a Day ad last year, which represented new ambition for the grocer’s Christmas adverts.

“It is hard to remember Sainsbury’s was never really compared with John Lewis at Christmas until Mark arrived,” says Mawdsley.

“We don’t talk about John Lewis comparisons but the media are suddenly talking about it because of the creative impact Mark has had.”

Given says the public can expect more of the same from Sainsbury’s each Christmas.

“Hopefully we will build a reputation for doing great work that brings the specialness of the Christmas season to life,” says Given.

His job at Sainsbury’s is his first role in retail marketing. He cut his teeth at Procter & Gamble before a brand director role at Heineken and a head of sponsorship position at O2.

“He has captured retail so quickly and it is strange to think he hadn’t really done any retail marketing previously,” says Mawdsley.

Christmas brief

It was Sainsbury’s marketing director Sarah Warby who lured him to his present role, having worked with him for years at Heineken.

Mawdsley says the two have a very strong working relationship and Warby provides Given with the room he needs to grow.

Given is said to be hugely ambitious and this competitive streak carries through to the rugby field.

He is in the process of consuming thousands of calories as he bulks up in order to be big enough to play in the scrum.

Given’s drive appears to be paying off. This year the brief for the Christmas campaign was to do something that would make people cry and give them the sad yet happy reaction they love to tweet about.

A cursory look at Twitter shows it is job done for Given. In the worlds of Twitter user @JCautomatic: “I can’t come in today. HR: Why not? I just watched the Sainsbury’s advert”.

Given will no doubt be in touch with the Sainsbury’s HR department to enquire about his pay rise.

Mark Given CV

January 2013 to present Head of brand communications at Sainsbury’s

January 2012 to January 2013 Head of sponsorship at O2

2007 to 2012 Brand director of mainstream beer at Heineken UK

2005 to 2007 Brand director of feminine care at Procter & Gamble UK

2003 to 2005 Senior brand manager at P&G’s European oral care division

2001 to 2003 Brand manager at P&G’s European snacks division

1998 to 2001 Assistant brand manager at Pringles for P&G UK