Christmas is the time of year when we come together with the ones we love, enjoy food and drink from our favourite places, and get some well-deserved rest after a (hopefully) productive year. Christmas is also the time of year where retailers compete for the most eye-catching, heart-wrenching festive ad to further boost brand awareness and place themselves at the top of the list for consumers. This week, I’ve gathered Your Marketing Team’s five favourite Christmas adverts for 2018.
Boots - #GiftsThatGetThem
Boots’ Christmas ad for this year is truly one of a kind. It steers away from the usual outline of a festive advert while still holding on to the important message of giving. The ad depicts a relatable relationship between a teenage girl and her mother. Although it features scenes of the pair clashing with day-to-day scenarios, it’s rounded off by the daughter gifting a thoughtful present to her mother on what appears to be Christmas day, with the tagline ‘get them something that says you get them’. To add to its tear-jerking nature, the advert is set to an edited version of Robbie Williams’ famous hit She’s The One.
Cadbury - Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a famous, generous ritual which is celebrated by Cadbury in their ad for this year. Throughout the advert, Cadbury chocolate is gifted by various people from different walks of life; all hidden behind a Santa mask to keep it truly secret. Overall, the ad boosts generosity to show appreciation of friends, family and colleagues alike. And it also hints at a sweet Cadbury gift which will always go down a treat on Christmas Day.
Sainsbury’s – The Big Night
Focused around the classic school nativity play, Sainsbury’s went all out with an all singing, all dancing Christmas advert. The advert is likely to bring a happy tear to your eye; especially as Sainsbury’s have left out any products or prices to completely focus on the feel-good factor. With a shy girl dressed in a star costume performing an emotional version of New Radicals’ song ‘You Get What You Give’, there’s no doubt that this ad pushes a strong message of how important giving is over the festive period.
Iceland – Say Hello to Rang-tan
Chances are, you’ve already seen Iceland’s Orangutan advert after it was banned for breaching political advertising guidelines by Clearcast. Regardless of the ban, the advert tells a powerful story focused around the negative impact palm oil use has on orangutans and their habitat. A positive response to the ad was felt far and wide, and this helped to propel its important message. Harriet explores Iceland’s controversial marketing strategy in her latest blog post which you can read here.
Heathrow – The Heathrow Bears Return
Last, but certainly not least, is the highly anticipated return of the Heathrow bears. This year, the bear couple, Doris and Edward Bair, are seen travelling back to the UK from their retirement home in sunny Florida. The most emotional scene of the advert depicts the bear couple being reunited with their family at home. By setting the advert at Heathrow airport itself, there’s no doubt that the touching feel of the ad is side-lined by Heathrow trying to give viewers the desire to travel this Christmas.
In summary, this Christmas period has seen some monumental, controversial and all-round heart-warming adverts. This most definitely raises the bar high for next year; but for now we can appreciate the lengths our favourite brands have gone to in order to attract our attention and really put us in the festive spirit.