Tesco × BBH
Creating the UK’s First Major Supermarket Advertising for Ramadan
We were brought in by Tesco and their ad agency BBH to confidently and credibly reach Britain's underserved Muslim population
The Challenge
Despite serving millions of Muslim customers every week, Tesco, like most national grocers, had never launched mainstream advertising designed to speak credibly to Britain’s Muslim communities.
The opportunity was significant, but so was the risk. Cultural nuance, trust, and representation mattered. Tesco and its lead creative agency, BBH, needed to move carefully and ensure any work was not only well-intentioned, but culturally intelligent, commercially sound, and creatively strong.
Our Role
BBH brought us in as strategic partners to help Tesco build the cultural confidence required to engage Britain’s underserved Muslim population credibly and at scale.
Our role was to embed Inclusion-led Relevance into the advertising process itself - strengthening planning, decision-making, and execution - so that creativity could expand into new cultural territory without fear, guesswork, or reputational risk.
What We Delivered
Our work followed an Unpack → Untangle → Unlock approach:
Comprehensive campaign audit
We reviewed over 50 ATL and BTL campaigns through an inclusion-led relevance lens, identifying patterns, blind spots, risks, and missed opportunities across objectives and formats.Inclusive planning framework
Insight from the audit was translated into a practical planning tool that could flex across different campaign types and embedding cultural consideration into everyday creative and strategic decisions.Cultural confidence and planning workshops
Six bespoke workshops equipped Tesco and BBH teams with:Deeper understanding of Muslim audiences and lived context
Clear guidance on nuance, language, symbolism, and representation
Confidence to explore new creative territories responsibly
Production and risk advisory
We provided hands-on advisory support for Together This Ramadan - Tesco’s first major Ramadan campaign—including cultural assessment and media risk analysis.
The Impact
+275% uplift in Tesco and Ramadan mentions
Net sentiment score of +13 among Muslim audiences
Cannes Lions Award for Cultural Insight
Increased retention among Tesco’s Muslim colleague population
Improved staff satisfaction and confidence at BBH
Inclusion became a creative accelerator, not a constraint—unlocking stronger connection with customers while strengthening internal belief in the work.
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“We wanted an industry-leading perspective that would genuinely challenge our thinking. The Unmistakables’ expertise in inclusive planning and marketing helped us rigorously interrogate both the process and the output of the work we make with our clients.”
Partner, BBH
What Makes this Case Relevant?
This work demonstrates how Inclusion-led Relevance enables brands to enter new cultural spaces with credibility - without tokenism, over-caution, or creative dilution.
It shows what’s possible when inclusion is treated as a strategic planning discipline, giving teams the confidence to make braver work that resonates in the real world and delivers measurable commercial and cultural impact.