Tesco delivery drivers have decried the supermarket’s new Christmas advert as depicting “literally everything we are specifically forbidden from doing in one short clip”.
Tesco launched its 2026 Christmas advert on Sunday evening. It stars comedian Roisin Conaty and actor Anna Maxwell Martin as two old school friends unexpectedly reunited by a festive grocery delivery gone wrong.
But the depiction of the online delivery driver in the feelgood three-minute film is a case of Tesco “acting like this isn’t a sackable offence” say the supermarkets workers on Reddit.
The advert – ‘The Wrong Address’ – follows Lizzie (Martin), who accidentally orders her big Christmas food shop to her old address, hundreds of miles away from her new home. Tesco delivery driver Polly (Conaty) comes to the rescue, offering to meet Lizzie halfway to ensure her family doesn’t miss out on their Christmas treats, then giving her a lift home when her car breaks down.
But real Tesco workers have taken to Reddit to point out the litany of company policy breaches depicted in the ad.
They include: using a personal phone to contact a customer; not delivering to the listed address; giving a customer a lift in the passenger seat; and not wearing a hi-visibility vest while driving.
Several also pondered the fate of Polly’s other deliveries: “Cuts off before the part where you see the family who didn’t get their food order,” one noted.
“Did they accidentally ship the ‘this will get you sacked’ training video to marketing by mistake?” one posted on the Tesco Reddit forum.
“All acts individually would lead to the driver’s job being terminated for gross misconduct,” another wrote.
“Feels like a training video on what not to do,” said another.
Tesco was approached for comment on the drivers’ reactions but had not responded at the time of publication.
The advert is a story of “rekindled friendships, relatable mistakes and some extra little helps from Tesco”, the supermarket said upon its launch.
It follows the launch of Tesco’s campaign platform ‘Need Anything from Tesco?’ which launched earlier this year.
“This Christmas, Tesco is showing up with plenty of extra little helps to deliver customers their very best Christmas,” said Suzanne Quinn, UK customer director at Tesco of the Christmas ad.
“Whether that’s cracking deals on the products they love, delicious, exclusive food and drink, or festive experiences that bring families together, we’re focused on helping customers make Christmas happen. Because this Christmas, Every Little Helps,” she added.
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