Sainsbury’s has launched its 2026 Christmas campaign, bringing back Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant for a third consecutive year across broadcast, social, and digital channels.
Created by agency New Commercial Arts, the centrepiece 120-second film premiered on Sunday 1 November on Sky Sports, immediately following the Arsenal versus Liverpool match. To support a coordinated multi-screen push, the full advert went live simultaneously across Sainsbury’s website and social media channels, backed by evening TV slots on ITV1 and Channel 4.
The digital rollout plays a central role in the campaign’s reach. Alongside the long-form film, Sainsbury’s has produced a suite of 90-, 60-, 40-, and 20-second cutdowns tailored for video-on-demand, social feeds, and digital display. This multi-asset distribution strategy is designed to drive engagement across mobile and desktop environments throughout the festive shopping period.
Directed by Rogue Films with visual effects by Electric Theatre Collective, the advert sees store colleague Annie return to the screen. After learning the BFG is unwell with a cold and contemplating missing the holidays, Annie loads a Sainsbury’s delivery van with festive Taste the Difference products and sets off for Giant Country with her colleague Fred.
“At the heart of the story is a simple idea: nobody should miss out on Christmas,” said Radha Davies, Marketing Director at Sainsbury’s. “Our Taste the Difference range plays a starring role throughout the advert because great food is often what brings people together. We hope this year’s campaign delivers plenty of festive fun while celebrating the moments, people and food that make Christmas truly unmissable.”
Alongside the primary brand campaign, Sainsbury’s will deploy a dedicated digital edit highlighting its partnership with Comic Relief. The initiative underpins the supermarket’s target to raise £30 million by 2030, using targeted online placements to drive support for programmes delivering 12 million meals to families facing food insecurity across the UK this winter.
