The Iconic Christmas Advert.
Has it got to the point where finally we have found something to rival the Coca Cola truck?
For as long as I can remember I have always associated the beginning of Christmas with the first time that I see the Coca Cola Truck advert. The soft jingle bells, that same familiar tune…Holidays are coming, Holidays are coming….and then the famous truck comes round the corner in a dream like 1920’s style.
It has become so iconic now that the truck even has its own bevy of Sexy Santa Girls that follow the truck around from early November to Late December. Rivalling Red Bull and Virgin their girls hand out free Coke to everyone that walks past whilst they listen to the same tune played by a large truck that takes up pretty much an entire car park.
Good Advertising?
Well as well all know put girls in skimpy outfits and handing out freebies in front of a Van with Father Christmas on the front and Jingle Bells ringing in our ears is not going to fail in any way, but which advert has won this years title…?
If you have not already seen this years contenders be prepared for tears/nostalgia and amazing graphics (but very little substance):
Alright so John Lewis have made a reputation for creating tear jerkers for Christmas. Since when did Christmas become about crying? I do not want to cry my eyes out every 5 minutes that an advert is on-yes you are more likely to remember an advert if it makes you feel a strong emotion-but Christmas is meant to be a cheery time of the year!!!
The story is clever and pretty to look at but is it better than the other iconic Christmas adverts they have produced?
(Remember the boy who loved giving at Christmas? And the Snowman who trekked across the snowy plains to buy some gloves for the person he loves)
In my opinion it is Brilliant as an advert. Finally a superstore is considering its main audience: Children and Parents!
The children are the ones who ask for the presents, the parents go out and buy them! This advert can be shown any time of the day and have the same impact. By broadening their audience they are attracting more people-they could even take it further and produce cuddly toys of the animals featured in the video.
Simple Story, Simple Graphics and yet very affective!
My only problem with it is that it is not really that Christmassy….It could be all year round…at least with the other adverts featured they actually sell their products whereas the only thing being bought across this year is the idea of an alarm clock waking you up on Christmas Day. These are super stores trying to sell things-if the advert was primarily going for a message at Christmas on behalf of maybe a Charity then it is perfect but for an actual store that sells items it seems to be way off the mark!
I hate to think how many alarm clocks are going to sell this year!
Next up….M & S and their Christmas Themed ‘Alice In Wonderland/Wizard of Oz’
All I can say is it is very obvious who has spent the most amount of money on their advert this year. Featuring stars like Rosie Hungtington Whitely, David Gandy and Helena Bonham Carter it definitely tries to pit it to the top. But they try way to hard! The models have the acting skills of a talking celery stick (perhaps the reason why they are not allowed to talk during the advert and are only permitted to open their mouthes occasionally to imply expression). The one person allowed to actually make a noise is of course Helena but even then her line is the dullest most un-evenftul thing in the 2 mins that we watch.
The story is not fullfilling (if anything it is all over the place). It screams “Get the most expensive products in as many shots as possible and we will find a story to fit around it”. Plus the amount of different fairy tales they try to fit in to the only 2 mins they are allowed is absurd. If you are going for Alice In Wonderland stick with Alice In Wonderland. Instead they abuse all of the old classics (Hansel and Gretal/Alice in Wonderland/Wizard of Oz).
The props and camera angles are beautiful. The story and the actors (models) are awful. The products are all mixed together in a confused type of haze. It is not a Christmas Advert. It is not a Summer Advert. It barely fits a Winter Advert. The style is not meant for a small TV Screen but a Cinema Screen (but Helena’s agent has made sure that there is no way that her acting is going to be exposed in the cinema by a crappy tv advert she did once).
Give it a watch once, maybe twice but that is it.
I’m sorry a dog? Where the hell does that fit in (merely an excuse for Rosie Huntington to go down the rabbit hole-why couldn’t she just fall? Do rich people not fall down any more accidentally do they have to follow rich little dogs in order to act like a buffoon?
Now for the Adverts that are almost too christmassy:
What is there to say about Aldi? Cheap and Cheerful. Apart from the occasional christmas products (tinsel, lights and crackers) you would not necessarily know that it was any different to a normal Aldi advert from all year round-but hey if it works for you-than why stop?
Actually Tesco have really upped their game this year with their heartwarming home video style of a typical “normal” Christmas at Home with the Family. I think we are made to assume that this advert follows the same family as they grow older. However they are very subtle about it-almost too subtle. The only way that we can tell that they are the same family is by the dads hair colour (ginger). The different years are reflected well in terms of style and different decorations.
Definitely a very clever advert celebrating family times at Christmas-however you cannot help but feel that the advert might be quite hard to swallow for those out there that will be spending the holiday season alone?
Personally this advert is my favourite. Is it because I am a Disney Fan? Perhaps. But for some reason the tune sang by a gingerbread man and the duo presenters Ant and Dec make for a really cheerful and Christmassy advert. Singing along whilst my mouth waters at the yummy food-this is so simple but clever.
No crying for bears that miss Christmas, no crying over the nostalgia of the Christmas period, and definitely no mixed fairytale signals in this one just a simple happy go lucky song that people can dance too!
Related articles
- Is it time to put up our Christmas decorations yet? (creative90blog.wordpress.com)
- Battle of the ads: Christmas style (vitaldigital.wordpress.com)
- John Lewis Christmas adverts (jemmaday.wordpress.com)
- The battle of the Christmas ads: it’s Christmas time #dsmmcm1314 (hulaholics.co)
- You’re Crying at Adverts (haywardmoans.wordpress.com)
- Christmas TV adverts 2013 – review (theguardian.com)
- “Give someone a Christmas they’ll never forget” – John Lewis Christmas Advert 2013 (keziahblogs.wordpress.com)
- Marks & Spencer turns to Helena Bonham-Carter and Alice in Wonderland for Christmas (telegraph.co.uk)
- That (In)famous John Lewis Christmas Advert…. (dawnrobinsonwalsh.wordpress.com)
- That’s advertainment! As John Lewis reveals its festive advert, the battle to sell Christmas starts today (standard.co.uk)
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