Aldi UK debuted the second installment of its holiday campaign starring Kevin the Carrot and his family. Despite leaving his previous cliffhanger unexplained, Kevin’s new adventure introduced new characters and has garnered positive attention across social media.
Last week, Aldi parodied Coca-Cola’s famous “Holidays are Coming” ad that ended with Kevin and his truck dangling off the side of a cliff. The spot had internet fans pleading for the carrot’s safety and speculating his fate. Even Coca-Cola offered to help.
The UK retailer pivoted its campaign on Thursday from the cliffside to a far off castle, where Kevin’s family is held captive by Pascal the Parsnip. Kevin arrives on the scene of a banquet table to find his wife Katie and three children locked in a cage.
“Kevin the Carrot and the Wicked Parsnip” features music from Edward Scissorhands and is once again narrated by actor Jim Broadbent.
It’s no coincidence that Kevin must again traverse a massive holiday feast to achieve his goal (a similar table appeared when he met Katie in last year’s ad). Aldi UK wanted to make viewers’ mouth water with the selection of foods they sell.
Kevin and his family will return for the remainder of the holiday ad campaign, retelling popular fairy tales with the theme of food. Stories will include “Kevin the Carrot and Pea-nocchio,” “Katie the Carrot and the Fairy Cake Mother” and “Kevin the Carrot and RhubarbStiltskin.”
Aldi did not indicate if or when #SaveKevin will be concluded. In fact, the title of the press release says that Kevin survived, leaving us to wonder if we will ever witness his harrowing escape.
To promote the holiday campaign, Aldi has added Pascal the Parsnip to its line-up of plush toys. Delivery trucks have been transformed into Kevin the Carrot trucks, identical to the one he drives in last week’s ad.
As with “Save Kevin,” social media fans have shown tremendous support for Aldi’s new campaign. The latest spot has received nearly 40,000 engagements (likes, shares and comments) on the first day.
