Is one supermarket Christmas turkey ad the same as the next?

I opened my Christmas copy of the RTE Guide last week. Yes. I'm old school. I like to read magazines and newspapers and the Christmas RTE Guide is a bit of a tradition. As kids, we used to get it and circle all the TV movies we wanted to watch. Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music and It's a Wonderful Life. On page 58, you will get all the movies at a glance. I found It's a Wonderful Life, made in 1947 and its on Christmas Eve at 14.15 on Channel 4 and The Sound of Music is the same day, at 14.40 on RTE, in case you are the kind of person who still watches 'linear telly' (that's what RTE call it) as opposed to recording things you want to watch later using your programme guide recorder thingy.

First, I check out the Aldi Turkey ad....

After I check out page 58, I flick through the magazine. I'm overwhelmed and salivating. Out of the magazine pops a beautifully designed and very festive magazine entitled 'All Your Favourite Things' from Aldi. Propping up the front cover is a turkey, with all the trimmings on a 'splate' (that's a slate plate) - there's a little splash of mandatory sea salt, some glazed carrots, perfectly formed mini stuffing balls and a bunch of herbs. The sauce that accompanies it has floating red peppercorns and to the side, a bowl of brussel sprouts, red cabbage and you can see a snippet of roasties with a sprig of rosemary. The potatoes are probably smothered in goose fat, as that's quite fashionable these days, along with coconut oil, of which sales are going through the roof, or so I'm told. So far, I'm thinking perhaps I will buy the Aldi turkey. Page 12 tells me the turkey is Bord Bia Quality Assured and I can even read about the farmer who guarantees traceability. No price listed, but it says 'great prices' in store. Throughout the brochure, there is everything you need for a perfect Christmas and that includes champagne for €19.99

Next up, the Lidl Turkey....

The Lidl Turkey is on a silver platter and is featured as a three page  pull out inside the front cover. It looks very well cooked to me and this one features the stuffing in the turkey itself with just roast potatoes and roasted half lemons adorning the platter. This one is also Bord Bia Quality Assured. It's DELUXE too. A little dish of cranberry sauce is featured. This is a more pure and simple presentation of a turkey. No price but they tell us to share a Lidl bit of magic. Some imaginative copywriting there.

Dunnes is Simply Better...

Next , page 51 and we meet Dunnes Stores. They tell us to 'Make Christmas Simply Better'. Nothing to argue with there.  Now here's a brand that has made some pretty serious investment in their bran in food and in fashion and homewares. The St Stephen's Green store has had a mega facelift and it's a bit of a mini BT's or at least getting close. They feature a turkey crown and it is just the turkeywith criss crossed streaky bacon to adorn it. A sprig of rosemary and some accompaniments to the side keeps this turkey simple and stylish. 

So, how do Tesco fare?

Oops, I nearly missed the Tesco turkey. Tesco are big on the finest Christmas and share a  very simple turkey with a few herb sprigs and chunky chips or maybe they are parsnips. I'm not 100% sure. This claims to be a Bronze Turkey. 100% Irish and completely free-range. No Bord Bia Quality Mark here and none featured on the Dunnes advert either.

No sign of a SuperValu turkey in the RTE  Guide though....

I 'm pretty sure the SuperValu turkey is fab.  SuperValu have done an outstanding job to promote Irish food and their Christmas ad by ad agency DDFH&B with a gorgeous Irish family insight featuring  dad with the turkey in his arms standing on the weighing scales made me smile, along with mince pies crashing to the ground in a very overburdened busy Christmas kitchen. I love it.

Top Recipe and Top Turkey Tips from Catherine Fulvio....

Before I leave you, Catherine Fulvio on page 148 has a recipe for sage, pancetta and plum turkey with sage plum stuffing tray bake. I've no idea which supermarket she bought her turkey in but it looks good. She has some top tips too advising us to rest our turkey for 30 minutes and ourselves.

So, are all supermarkets Christmas turkeys the same?

No, they aren't all the same but brand wise it is hard to differentiate the brands from one another. Judging from this months RTE Guide, they'd be in a jocker without the supermarket advertising revenue. It is certainly a big proportion  of the ad spend.  

Overall, top marks to the supermarkets and their agencies. Superb food styling and photography. My vote goes to Aldi. I choose on the basis of the perfect golden colour.

Happy Christmas and if you're having turkey. Enjoy it.