We all know how stressful Christmas shopping could be. This is why Morrisons is trying to make this year’s holiday season a little bit more cheerful for us all. In collaboration with Lyz Cooper, founder of The British Academy of Sound Therapy, Morrisons came up with ‘Festive Fred’ who would replace the usual voice at the self-service tills at all Morrisons stores across the country. After analysing the speech of a range of well-known figures such as Brian Blessed, Miranda Hart, Keith Chegwin and even the Queen, Fred has been created and proclaimed as the cheeriest voice in Britain according to the Evening Standard.
Lyz Cooper who worked with Morrisons mentions in the Daily Mail ‘With a cheery voice, sound rises in pitch, increases in variation, intonation and volume or tempo. The brain responds to this with an increased heart rate and the body releases dopamine, a feel good chemical associated with pleasure. Listening to a voice that is animated with cheery qualities induces a general uplift in mood and therefore cheers people up.’
Instead of the familiar “unexpected item in bagging area”, shoppers will now hear Fred, played by the voice-over artist Ben Whitehead, say: “Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle, someone’s coming to help.” When they finish at the self-service till, Fred will cheerfully goodbye customers, wishing them Merry Christmas.
