Putting the ad in advent - 2021’s Christmas round-up
December may be here, but we’ve been in Christmas mode since the skeletons went back in the closet in early November.
Yes, in the ad world, the countdown began bright and early this year, with most brands dropping their big campaigns at least seven weeks prior to the big day (unless you’re Very, who’ve been going since October 1st). But not only has it felt extra early, it’s also felt extra many.
There’s been a sack load of ads, with new and old friends returning to the scene for a festive celebration that’s big enough to scare off the ghosts from last year’s cancelled season. Christmas fatigue? No chance, we deserve it. But Christmas creativity? Now that’s up for debate.
From a vaccinated Santa to kid aliens from outer space, here’s our take on this year’s big ones featuring the opinions from some of our in-house designers who know a thing or two about creating magic.
Aldi - A Christmas Carrot
Oh Aldi, you really are the gift that keeps on giving. A Dickensian spoof, sound-tracked by The Pogues, with enough puns to fill a couple of punnets and the return of our beloved Kevin the Carrot. Oh, and Marcus Rashford making a cameo as a radish! Go on, then - it’s one giant Dad joke and we love it. It’s everything that a hearty budget supermarket should be - silly, clever, warm, kind and extra Christmassy. The sneaky Easter egg at the start with Cuthbert the Caterpillar getting arrested is beyond genius. As is releasing a 20-second teaser online days before the big event, which sent the internet into a frenzy as Kevin was nowhere to be seen.
It has all the principles of great creative - consistency (Kevin), humour, context (A Christmas Carol) and a recognisable asset (Marcus Rashford). Aldi, renowned for having clever marketing and social media campaigns all year round, have really pulled this one out the stocking, rounding up a year of ‘if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’ energy into one 120-second animated piece of joy.
John Lewis - An Unexpected Guest
Okay, let’s address the alien in the room.
By now we’ve firmly established that John Lewis has a distinct creative formula that even the non-advertising folk amongst us can crack. One that other brands recycle too (see McDonald’s and their 2021 Iggy the Monster campaign). It’s always been a yearly sign that Christmas has truly begun. But has the moment lost its magic? Has it reached the point where we’re watching the new John Lewis ad only to judge it against its predecessors? A bit like how we all become fashion experts during the MET ball or football managers during the England games. Really, the pressure needs to come off. Our Strategy Director Jasman Ahmad argues that John Lewis is damned if they do and damned if they don’t:
“In their defence, it’s arguable that they are the ‘expectation setters’ having been the ones that kicked it all off in 2009 (yes, it’s been that long). Part of me thinks they can’t win; go traditional and people will say it’s tired or go the other way and be classed as ‘trying too hard’. But in my opinion, it’s time they went for the latter.”
In terms of the creativity, it’s beautiful - featuring a notorious throwback soundtrack, which truly echoes the effective role of music within TV ads. Refreshingly, there’s no acknowledgement of a pandemic, but might we argue that aliens aren’t very Christmassy and that no products actually feature? In all honesty, there’s a bigger picture here and we think it might be time for John Lewis to rethink their festive strategy before it’s too late.
M&S - Percy Pig’s First Christmas
It’s happened. Percy Pig, the 29-year-old gummy sweet that Marks & Spencer have squeezed into every strain of product - from birthday cards to bubble bath - is now, finally, a walking, talking, real-life TV character. In a Night at the Museum style scenario, Percy comes to life and trots his way around a sleeping M&S store discovering all the festive gems the brand has to offer. Jon Walsh, one of our Senior Creative Designers, argues the ad does exactly what it should:
“It makes me want to eat the food! Apparently, Percy is voiced by Tom Holland of Spider-Man fame, but I'm not sure I would have known that if I hadn't looked it up! It’s a nice ad that gets to the point with a light sprinkling of fairy dust and no sentimentality in sight.”
But there is a tiny part of us that feels it’s a little weird to have naked Percy running around the food aisles with a Dawn French fairy, where inevitably he will run into a pig in blanket or roast pork? Hmm, maybe our minds shouldn’t have gone there! With all the stars on offer, we imagine the budget was pretty big but whether that’s reflected in how magical we feel inside, it’s hard to say. But perhaps we shouldn’t expect too much of a supermarket and a delightful cartoon pig. If Percy loves it, then so should we, right?
Sports Direct - Go All Out
It’s a dazzling debut from Sports Direct. This year’s ad is star-studded, on-brand, light-hearted and most of all - it’s fun. Because why should a sports retailer be anything else? No pulling of the heart strings, no pandemic, no family dynamic, just our favourite sports stars having a snowball fight, encouraging us all to get some winter air in our lungs. Another one of our Senior Creative Designers Simon Horton makes the good point that in many ways, our sporting heroes have been the ones we have felt most connected to in the past year, the ones who have brought us all together - much like the spirit of Christmas.
“I think we've all built a real affinity with sports people during the pandemic, helping us realise that we really have been in this together. Seeing some of these stars, who we've become extra close to recently, gave me a warmer feeling than the sterile depiction of supposed British households.”
There’s a degree of transparency and credibility given to brands when an ad stars people that represent their brand identify. Perhaps more so than for those brands that have just splurged their budget on Hollywood names and not necessarily the narrative (we’re looking at you, Boots). Interestingly, JD Sports ventured down a similar route to Sports Direct this year, with their too-cool-for-school JD Wonderland ad, celebrating youth culture and the music, sport and entertainment icons that guide them through.
Sainsbury’s - A Christmas to Savour
Now this is an ad. A feast for the eyes and ears, Sainsbury’s have created a visual masterpiece with magical camera work taking us on a journey through one mad moment in a festive household accompanied by the earthy tones of Etta James. Here’s what our Creative Videographer Alex Smith has to say:
“It’s impossible not to marvel in awe at the triumph of the special effects at play here. Technically, it’s an incredible piece but most crucially for me, it’s not style without substance and the camera play does not overshadow the core message. Here we have a simple and brilliantly apt concept that we can all (unfortunately) relate to. Festivities were forced to pause this time last year and this campaign embraces this by quite literally pausing Christmas.”
Sainsbury’s have taken on a less-is-more approach this year, whilst still managing to showcase the franticness and messiness of the family dinner table on Christmas Day. It’s a clever venture outside of the box that perhaps others should follow. As Alex says, more brands could be embracing the chaos of Christmas:
“For me too many campaigns show an overly perfect depiction, which, for most, is simply not the case. I feel ‘the magic of Christmas’ is more overdone than my mum’s turkey, and that’s saying something!”
Tesco - Nothing’s Stopping Us
If it’s Christmas chaos you want, then here it is. Part Christmas ad, part a game of spot the cultural reference, Tesco’s ad this year is the 2021 round-up we’re not sure we asked for. But party hats off to the supermarket for cramming in as many bells and whistles and reminders of the year gone by as possible. From supply chain issues and the office return to COVID passports and travel restrictions (never did we think we’d see the laborious traffic light travel system feature in our local supermarket’s Christmas ad) – Tesco really did say ‘let’s go’ this year.
And it wouldn’t be Christmas without a few ASA complaints now, would it? Yes, since this ad aired, there have been over 5,000 complaints, predominantly from a group of online anti-vaxxers, sending Santa’s vaccinated mugshot into the papers.
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to deal with the worry of making it back into the country for Christmas, or carrots running low, or an ongoing pandemic – but here we are. Instead of sending us down an emotional or worrisome spiral, Tesco have knocked it on the head and said, ‘we can do this!’ with a touch of humour and some classic Queen. Yes, it’s a little clunky in places, but to be honest, this is probably just the energy we need right now. Come on, Christmas, we’ve got you.
We might have only hit the tip of the iceberg with this year’s offerings but what a medley it’s been. All in all, the ads that have struck a chord are the ones that have unapologetically sold their product and hit the right tone.
We’re contradictory by nature these days - sometimes we want to dwell on the past year and other times we want to forget all about it. Ideally, ads can nurture both of these headspaces or take us someplace else. One thing’s for certain is just how emotionally evoking Christmas advertising, and video in general, can be. Capturing the feeling at Christmas is one thing - but doing it honestly is another. We hope truth and transparency continues into 2022 and that those who do it well can reap the rewards next year and beyond.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Eloise Pates
Contributor
