Aldi teams up with Marcus Rashford for a special Christmas advert

Aldi has teamed up with Marcus Rashford for its 2021 Christmas advert campaign as part of its pledge to donated 1.8 million meals to families over the festive period.

The advert, which has taken inspiration from Charles Dickens’ festive classic A Christmas Carol, centres around new character, Ebanana Scrooge, who holds a passionate dislike for Christmas after being rejected by Santa for a mince pie as a baby banana.

Old favourite Kevin the Carrot also returns as the Ghost of Christmas Past and, in a first, Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford makes a brief cameo as the footballer radish, Marcus Radishford.

In the ad, two peas packing up a delivery point out, “Look! There’s Marcus Radishford! He’s always helping children,” to which the radish version of the footballer calls out, “Merry Christmas Kevin!”

The advert ends with Ebanana finally embracing the spirit of Christmas, and closes with the resounding quote: “The moral of the story? The answer you’ll find, for you to be happy, you need to be kind.”

Rashford shared the clip onto Twitter last night, writing: “Well done @AldiUK. This is much bigger than a Christmas ad… Might not be Oscar-worthy but glad I could play my part.”

He added in a statement: “As a family, we relied on the local food bank to get our Christmas dinner. To this day, I remember queuing outside that building with mum, mum feeling embarrassed that she might be recognised. It is with that in mind that I’m delighted to lend my support to the Aldi campaign.

“For many children in situations like mine growing up, there is very little expectation around this time of year; add the impact of the pandemic and the very least they deserve is a Christmas dinner.”

Aldi will be working with Neighbourly, a platform that helps businesses connect with charitable organisations in local communities, to donate its surplus food to local causes.

Neighbourly chief executive Steve Butterworth said on the new parternship: “We’re delighted to be supporting Aldi in their year-round food redistribution programme and in their commitment to donate 1.8 million meals this Christmas.

“These donations will help a record number of families across the UK during what is expected to be the busiest year on record for local charities and causes.”

This comes just days after Rashford was awarded an MBE at Windsor Castle for his campaign to support vulnerable children throughout the pandemic.

The twenty-four-year-old received nation-wide praise last year when he began campaigning to end child poverty and hunger, with his work for the provision of free school meals and support to low -income families in the UK during holidays prompting major changes in government policy.

The footballer also fought hard against the government’s plan to cut the £20 universal credit uplift, urging them to instead tackle the ongoing ‘child hunger pandemic’.