# Sainsbury’s “Gravy Song” Christmas ad

> Racist abuse of a Christmas ad led 9 supermarkets to air a joint antiracism response.

- Owner: Sainsbury’s
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Retail
- Seed date: 2020-11-14
- Milestone date: Week of Nov 16, 2020
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak. Some dates are known only to the week, month or year.
- Spread Score: 33 (Niche, provisional), v1.3
- Mechanics: Controversy, Response chain, Platform jump, Press loop, Newsjacking

## Summary

Sainsbury’s launched Gravy Song on social media and TV. Racist replies prompted rebuttals, press coverage and joint Channel 4 ad breaks by nine supermarkets on 27 November. The first release week’s press wave is the milestone anchor; no attention maximum was established.

## Timeline

- 2020-11-14 — Sainsbury’s (X) — Sainsbury’s posted Gravy Song, a Christmas film featuring a Black father and daughter.
- 2020-11-14 — Sainsbury’s / ITV’s The Voice (TV) — Sainsbury’s launched the TV placement during The Voice after the film’s morning online release.
- Nov 2020 — Sarah Beckett (Instagram) — Sarah Beckett posted racist replies about the advert on Instagram.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/mcp#api).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/sainsburys-gravy-ad

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Sainsbury’s “Gravy Song” Christmas ad.” Case HIS-01739. Spread Score v1.3: 33/100. Updated 2026-10-26. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01739