Thanks to Derek for this news!

Steps will be appearing in the Woolworths Christmas Advertising campaign which breaks on 7 November. Full details of the creative involve a dad being sent into Woolworths to purchase the new Steps album. The ads will follow the established “Well Worth It” tag line. Steps were chosen because of their appeal to the core customer base of families and children. The inclusion will assist in allowing ‘Gold’ to be a top five album this Christmas.

The Woolworths brand exposure is worth £750,000 and effectively matches the marketing spend by Jive records. Jive has shipped 400,000 copies of Gold and a further 60,000 units on VHS and DVD. Jive has also secured co-op TV ads that are already showing, which will be higher in regions where the Steps fanbase is not as strong, these regions being the North and the Midlands. Tailored press advertising will follow nearer Christmas to encourage parents to buy ‘Gold’ as a Christmas present

I knew of Steps appearance in the Woolworths ads way back in July when they were shot in a specially rigged up mock shop in a studio in Teddington, but could only tell you at GenSteps when it was announced through their PR dept. Further details can be found in last week’s Music Week!

A reminder from Ananova:

Tickets have gone on sale for the extra dates on Steps’ Gold tour. They include a matinee at Sheffield Arena on November 25. There is also an extra evening show at Glasgow SECC on November 30. The Gold tour kicks off at Sheffield on November 24 and finishes at Cardiff on December 16. Tickets for the tour are on sale through Ananova’s ecommerce partner Way Ahead .