Asda has replaced its December snowman with a January scarecrow for the follow-up to its Christmas campaign - an equally unsubtle dig at its competitors.

Asda Scarecrow ad campaign

Asda has replaced its December snowman with a January scarecrow for the follow-up to its Christmas campaign - an equally unsubtle dig at its competitors.

Dressed in unmistakable Asda green, the star of the advert stands next to three distinctly glum-looking straw men in shades of yellow, blue and orange, sporting a big grin and a funky raised arm in celebration.

Why is he celebrating? The voice-over cheerfully explains: “Asda guarantees your comparable shop will be 10% cheaper”. As it turns out the Asda scarecrow is 10% bigger, of course.

It’s a new take on a simple idea but, with the success of the discounters over Christmas, value looks set to be a running theme this year in grocery.

Mintel retail analyst John Mercer says: “Asda’s core USP is price and with rivals, principally Aldi and Lidl, encroaching on its low-price turf, Asda is yet again focusing on its value credentials. The campaign is a little repetitive, with this new ad being a simple retread of the Christmas snowman campaign. But it does the job in emphasising Asda’s price advantage over the other four major grocers.”

The TV ads contribute to a price campaign launched this month when the grocer invested £50m in reducing prices in the first quarter.

Mercer adds: “The one question it leaves unanswered is, how does Asda compare with the discounters on price?”

With Lidl and Aldi’s phenomenal market share grab at the end of last year and the big four under pressure, we might well expect to see a couple more scarecrows in the row come Asda’s next campaign.

Asda Scarecrow Advert