TV advertising and celebrities

In 1958, Sainsbury's broadcast its first television advertisement, promoting its frozen chicken as an inexpensive family meal.

The Merchandising Manager, Jim Woods was responsible for the production of the advertisements. He recalled that early methods were refreshingly simple:

"We did the filming at the Putney branch, and every time we started recording, one of us had to dash outside to stop the traffic because of the noise."

Later television advertisements made use of a set built from 'shop fittings' borrowed from the firm's training school at Blackfriars.

The 'Shopping bags' television commercial for Sainsbury's own brands was broadcast in four ITV regions in 1975. It starred Sheila Fearn from the TV series 'The Likely Lads' playing an ordinary housewife. This was not the first use of a celebrity in Sainsbury's advertising. During the 1930s, the advertising campaign for premium blend Blue Kaddy tea featured the pilot Amy Johnson, who had made a number of historic long distance flights.

The 1990s 'Everyone's favourite ingredient' campaign featured actors and entertainers from Ernie Wise to Catherine Zeta Jones cooking their favourite recipes. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver became the face of Sainsbury's in 2000.

In 2005, Sainsbury's began sponsoring ITV1's Drama Premieres. This marked a new approach in Sainsbury's advertising strategy and was the first sponsorship deal of its kind by a supermarket retailer.