So it is that time of year again, the Christmas tree’s are brought out of their boxes, glitter covers the entire house, tinsel as far as the eye can see, and of course the obligatory Christmas TV advert from our favourite brands. There are plenty of new adverts this year, from the nations favourite Coca Cola advert to a brand new tear jerker from John Lewis, and it is nice to see big player getting in the Christmas spirit!
Coca Cola
Coca Cola always do a fantastic job at creating different variations of the classic advert. Coca Cola really pulled it out the bag this year though. After hearing the devastating news regarding the Philippines, the huge company decided that they were going to suspend their ad campaign this Christmas in the Philippines in order to donate all the money that would of otherwise been spent promoting their brand. So far Coca Cola have donated $2.4million in cash and in-kind contributions. There are still some cynics about who think that Coca Cola have done this as a marketing strategy to make them look like do gooders, but in all honesty, if it raises over $2million for the Philippines, who really cares what the motive is?! From a PR perspective it is a fantastic move, considering the sales for Coca Cola are falling, this stunt will really work in their favour!
John Lewis
Following John Lewis’ 2012 Christmas advert where we seen the heartfelt relationship between a snowman and his snowlady, I thought it would be pretty hard to follow that up with something of the same level. The powerhouse department store threw a massive £7,000,000 at the advertisement this year which is aptly called Bear and the Hare:
This extremely expensive advertisement sees the unlikely friendship between a bear and a hare. The beginning of the ad see’s the run up to christmas and that the bear hibernates so has never had a Christmas before. The hare then hops off to John Lewis and buys the bear a present, long story short, it’s an alarm clock that wakes the bear up on Christmas day and all the woodland creatures have a fantastic day and enjoy the festivities. The slogan of the advert is ‘Give someone a Christmas they’ll never forget‘, it is a really endearing advert and attracts all ages, so it’s a job well done by the creative teams over at John Lewis, is it worth £7million though? Probably not!
Sainsbury’s
Now, this well known supermarket decided to go one step further than most brands we have become accustomed to, and created a 50 minute feature film that can be viewed on YouTube and actually premiered in a cinema in London. This cleverly heartwarming advert is constructed of short video clips that have been filmed by real families in the UK around Christmas time to show what real Christmas looks like.
The advert really pulls on our heart strings when at the end of the advert, a family with three young children are filming a message to send to their father who is currently on tour with the Army. I thought that this was a clever PR move for Sainsbury’s, especially how they handled the bomb shell that someone over in the editing team failed to spot the Co-Op lemon torte, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding in plain sight behind an unsuspecting gentleman explaining his Christmas dinner! Wouldn’t have liked to be the person who must of been the topic of conversation in that meeting!
Marks & Spencers
Marks & Spencers always puts on a great Christmas Advert, and this year doesn’t disappoint! The theme this year is Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood and The Wizard of Oz and features some famous faces that must have cost a fortune to get on board! From heart throb model David Gandy, to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to the hugely loved Helena Bonham Carter, it has it all! It is a truly magical advert that fits right in with Christmas, it is beautifully executed and definitely draws you in to watch the entire advert without turning over! Very well done M&S!
Debenhams
Debenhams have tried to replicate the success of their 2012 advert with the statement red coat this year, which features two beautiful coats, one male, one female. I find that this is one of the only adverts that is obviously advertising their own brand, which isn’t a bad thing, I just think it is missing something special even though the advert is beautifully shot and edited. The advert contains the singer, Foxes, who has done a slow, Christmassy version of her well known song Youth, but again, it lacks a special Christmas element for me personally!
I must say that all the big players have pulled out all the stops to get in the Christmas spirit, but my favourite advert this year has to be John Lewis’ The Bear & The Hare, there has been so much effort put in to the production and the story is sentimental and has a great Christmas story at the centre of it all! £7million well spent!
AKAVANAGH PR 