From penguins to the post office, it's been fascinating looking at how some retailers have went all out down the emotional route to drive shares and others have focused on showcasing the quality and prices of their festive offerings.
Maybe I'm a big softie, but my two favourite ads are the ones from John Lewis and Sainsbury's that tell a real story. Kudos also goes to Waitrose for their charitable song-download donations, and to Aldi for giving me a serious craving for a smoked salmon voulevant.
Do you have a favourite from the ads below? Tweet me @_Melissa247 or leave a comment!
The Post Office: "Get Christmas All Wrapped up"
For the first time in around 5 years, the Post Office have released a Christmas advert to encourage more customers to post through their outlets - with the ad highlighting benefits like reduced postage for small parcels and guaranteed Christmas delivery right up until 23rd December. The quirky advert stars a range of celebs including: comedian Robert Webb, singer Pixie Lott, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, actress Amanda Holden and chef Gino D’Acampo.
Views by 17.11.14: 2,386
Positives: Not too soppy. Makes brown parcel tape and recorded delivery fun & memorable.
Negatives: Webb's 'Wonka-esque' character appears to have been popping LSD like chocolate coins.
Hashtag: #AllWrappedUp
Waitrose: "The Gingerbread Stall"
This advert tells the story of a girl who is put in charge of making delicious gingerbread biscuits for her class’s stall at the school Christmas fair. Although not very memorable to begin with, the advert has a few moments that make you smile - like the naughty dog munching a batch of the gingerbread biscuits. In true Christmas spirit, the soundtrack to the advert is a cover of Dolly Parton's 'Try' and was created using voices of members of the public, who took part in Waitrose's Donate Your Voice campaign in October. All profits from the sale of the track are being donated to charity which I think is a lovely touch. You can download it on iTunes and Google Play.
Views by 17.11.14: 479,422
Positives: Nice range of associated media including Gingerbread recipes, behind the scenes videos and in-store gingerbread icing stations. YUM!
Negatives: Not immediatly as memorable or shareable as other ads until you know the story behind the advert & the charity aspect.
Hashtag: #DonateYourVoice
Marks and Spencer "Follow the Fairies"
Marks and Spencer have cleverly created the two characters of Magic and Sparkle the fairies in this year's polished Christmas advert. Whilst I don't think the actual advert itself is anything to get too excited about, the 'Magic and Sparkle' concept capitalises on the reputation of M&S being a bit of a "treat" and "special" shopping destination. Another brilliant element of the campaign is the @thetwofairies twitter account which tweets from the perspective of both the fairies, and follows them as they spread kindness throughout the UK meeting people young & old and leaving them special gifts. This appears to have captured the imagination of kids, with lots of mums tweeting their photos & messages for the fairies.
Views by 17.11.14: 3,031,595 (third place!)
Positives: Great online engagement with the Christmas-dinner-buying target market - mums!
Negatives: The actual TV advert is a little bit long and doesn't show all the amazing engagement with the fairies across the UK.
Hashtag: #FollowtheFairies
John Lewis 'Monty the Penguin'
John Lewis' advert tells the story of a little boy, Sam, and his best friend Monty the Penguin. "It's a tale of love, friendship and giving someone the gift they've been dreaming of this Christmas." Like last year's Bear & Hare advert, John Lewis are masters at creating characters that make you go 'awww' and Monty is no exception. Admittedly, I did almost cry watching this advert the first time - but I'm not sure if it's made me any more likely to shop in John Lewis - probably because I don't have a child who will implode if they don't get one of the sold-out Monty toys.
Views by 17.11.14: 15,667,803 (leading the way!)
Negatives: Christmas commercialism gone a bit mad with a plethora of Monty merchandise....penguin cufflinks anyone?
Hashtag: #MontyThePenguin
Sainsbury's 'Christmas is for Sharing'
Quite possibly my favourite of the lot, Sainsbury's advert is a 3 minute long tribute to real events from 100 years ago. Made in partnership with The Royal British Legion, it commemorates the extraordinary events of Christmas Day, 1914, when the guns fell silent and two armies met in no-man’s land, sharing gifts – and even playing football together. The chocolate bar featured in the ad is on sale now at Sainsbury’s. All profits (50p per bar) will go to The Royal British Legion and will benefit armed forces and their families, past and present. A definite tear-jerker, I really love this advert and although it doesn't scream 'buy your christmas shopping at Sainsbury's' it's certainly got people talking about an extremely worthy charity.
Views by 17.11.14: 9,065,759 (second place!)
Positives: Makes you feel all the feels. Keeps WW1 in our minds during this commemorative year & helps raise money via unique chocolate bar sales.
Negatives: n/a (maybe I'm biased)
Hashtag: #ChristmasIsForSharing
Debenhams 'Found It!'
Debenhams' advert encourages viewers to "Explore the magic of a Debenhams Christmas as the search begins for your most fabulous festive season yet" Although it shows off a very pretty and festive looking store, I'm struggling to find any real saving grace of the advert as it seems to lack any real emotional story, or actually promote the benefits of shopping at Debenhams compared to other shops this Christmas.
Views by 17.11.14:695,806
Positives: Engaging weekly competition for people who share their #FoundIt selfie with their Debenhams purchase.
Negatives: Advert doesn't stand out at all against it's competitors. It's also confusing as you can't really tell what all the kids are doing running around, and finding the fluffy reindeer at the end is a bit of an anti-climax.
Hashtag: #FoundIt
Boots #SpecialBecause
This endearing advert from Boots celebrates being together at Christmas, surrounded by the ones you love. It's a nice mix of an emotional story - celebrating the mum at the heart of the family - and successfully showcases the range of special gifts you can pick up at Boots to treat those special to you.
Views by 17.11.14: 284,342
Positives: Encouraging people to share the love with their #SpecialBecause hashtag pulled together on their website.
Negatives: Not much, could have a clearer CTA to use the hashtag at the end of the ad.
Hashtag: #SpecialBecause
Tesco 'Lights On'
Plugs...plugs everywhere! Tesco's Christmas advert shows a range of people getting ready for Christmas, with the help of Tesco of course. This advert doesn't appeal to me too much as it doesn't really convey an emotional story, or highlight any benefits of shopping at Tesco this Christmas. I think their retro 2013 advert was FAR superior!
Views by 17.11.14: 505,377
Positives: Funny characters & relate-able situations (how do lights get tangled EVERY year?)
Negatives: They don't seem to be bothering too much with continuing the adverts engagement, and haven't even tweeted about it in almost a week!
Hashtag: #MakeChristmas
Aldi 'Everyones coming to us this Christmas'
Leaving the tissues behind, Aldi have gone for a light-hearted advert which highlights the trend of Aldi/Lidl's growing popularity and reputation for selling high-quality food at a fraction of the price. Out of all the ads, this is probably the one that's most likely to make you change your mind when deciding where to fork out for the Christmas turkey. Oh and yes, that is Jools Holland at the end!
Views by 17.11.14: 40,785
Positives: Engaging social media competition where users tell @AldiUK who is joining them for Christmas dinner for a chance to win the food from the advert.
Negatives: Now I'm hungry....
Hashtag: #AldiChristasAd
Thanks for reading, Melissa x
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.......*damnit!*
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