Tesco | 100 Years of Value

If you’ve been going 100 years you’ve seen a lot in life, and have earned the right to have a big old knees-up. It was no wonder that Tesco wanted to mark their 100th anniversary year with something a little special…for less.

The Concept

We were thrilled to get the chance to tell of the story of one of Britain’s biggest high street names.  Tesco wanted to celebrate the story of Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco, and show how Tesco still delivers value for its customers 100 years later.

Coinciding with the launch event for their new discount store “Jack’s”, we worked with the lovely peeps at Collider to produce a film that embraced Jack’s ‘anti-establishment’ and homegrown persona using 2D animation, in a rich, layered, technicolour story that reflected the social and cultural landscape of each decade. 

It was important this film was not just a dry history lesson but something that was humorous, humble and real in its narrative. We wanted it to show who Jack Cohen really was and what he stood for, a customer champion and a remarkable self-made businessman who built one of Britain’s most successful retail establishments.

The Process

Each shot was comprised of a large number of archive images that had to be painstakingly sourced and then cut out individually to create a scene, and then animated to bring them to life. Our design for the film had to be flexible enough to integrate different looks seamlessly, and handle everything from archive images, footage, television commercials, film and audio clips.

Using primarily 2D animation with small and subtle flourishes of 3D animation, we delivered an engaging and cohesive film that told this fascinating story, enhanced by the voice of well-known comedian Arthur Smith.

The film premiered on an immersive wrap-around screen in a bespoke dome as part of the launch of Jack’s, Tesco’s new low-cost concept brand, and then was rolled out across all Tesco stores and digital channels in HD format.

Client

Tesco

Executive Producer

Hugh Ip

Animation Director

Peter Dobes

Agency

Collider

Producer

Nekhat Patel

Art Director

Dianne Dela Torre

Agency Creative Director

Del Manning

Researcher

Fenella McGuire

Animation and Design

Ink & Giants

Agency Art Director

Zoe Stock

Editor

Brian Dowd

Music and Sound Design

Foster & Foster Music