5 best Christmas Adverts this year and what makes them so great
As the Christmas approaches, and it goes down to no more than 33 days, the retailer industry promises extraordinary and truly magical Christmas for everyone.
It is indeed, true how extraordinary and unique are each of the commercials this season, all of them burst out of creativity and special attention to the feeling we all look for every Christmas, from reindeers, and Frozen’s characters, dragons and jumpy jumpers, here are the five top Christmas adverts this season.
5. McDonalds’ — Are you #ReindeerReady?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1wXIVYb49E
To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be McDonalds’ commercial, not at the beginning, but as you watch it you can discover the connection between the carrot and the reindeer campaign from 2017. Previously, in 2016 McDonalds’ commercial “The doll”, emphasized the idea of having a good time in the restaurant, even “finding” love, however, there was something missing there, and the following year McDonald's launched the reindeer’s commercial. The most astonishing element this year is that the commercial starts as animation and ends up in the real-life, where, surprise, the reindeer turns out to be the family’s dog. The whole scenario is heart-warming and the animation is of excellent quality, which emphasizes the effort put into it. I am just wondering whether McDonald's’ would continue with the reindeer’s element next season while promoting their carrots as (reindeer treats) perhaps making out of it a tradition.
4. M&S’s jumpy jumpers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH7Htz_oY3Q
Well, that commercial is pure fun, even if you are not a fan of House of Pain, you will be dancing by the end of it! It makes us smile and dance at the same time, and thinking of jumpers! I love the creative flavor in there as M&S uses the power of puns and associations to delight us in a very hilarious way, not to
mention the gorgeous jumper Ken, the doll wears while dancing. It is a clever trick, and it can be explaining by the theory of classical conditioning when we are exposed to certain stimuli and react in a specific way after exposure. Consequently, whenever we think of the song “Jump Around” or even hear the word “jump” we are about to think of jumpers, which jumpers I may ask, Mark and Spencers’. The best part is the final touch when the M&S logo is literally jumping around.
3. Aldi’s Christmas Advert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T37-A2JdaEk
Aldi went on an extra mile to keep their customers entertained, yes, that’s the most appropriate word we can use for their marketing communication strategy since Kevin, the carrot, appeared for the first time three years ago. Consistency and creativity as it seems to go hand in hand (this Christmas is not an exception at all)!
What we can immensely enjoy is the fact that Aldi knows what is truly popular and they manage to do something out of it, capturing their customers’ attention and encouraging curiosity. The marketing team in Aldi has immense insights into what is truly popular among the public and they incorporated that knowledge successfully into their Christmas special advert by placing Kevin in conflict with the peaky blinders — sprouts, and making him the star of the greatest showman, the resemblance is uncanny and highly entertaining.
2. Sainsbury’s invites us in the Dickins’ times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak5HEPpubhk&t=17s
If we don’t have at least one Christmas commercial to resemble Charles Dickins’ universe, what is the point anyway?
The advert is truly touching, but that is not all of it as it takes us back in the early 19th century when the first shop opened doors, even introducing to us to John James Sainsbury’s wife –Mary Ann. In short, there is a lot of history there, with the black and white setting and the oranges in colour, as it reminds us that the shop started off by selling fresh exotic fruits at first, hence a reminder of the retailer orange colour. The advert is beautifully made and presented while
intertwining the history of the retailer with the magic of Christmas giving hints of who was the young Santa Claus (Nickolas) and how important is the idea of sharing. From communication perspective and message representation, this advert is to be far better received than the last year “The Big Night” , and it is one of the best Christmas adverts followed by “1914” from 2014.
- John Lewis and Waitrose introduce us to Edgar the dragon and one magical Christmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPQsip61_o0
I can’t stop watching it, love every minute of it, it’s pure magic. Lewis and Waitrose invite us into a magic kingdom, it is a classical way of storytelling with a plot twist and happy ending. Plus, we have an amazing soundtrack. Even though that advert is extremely popular and well-received as the majority of Lewis’ Christmas advert, we cannot fail to witness a flaw that may spoil the fun and the excitement.
Despite the fact that John Lewis has a knack for surprising us in a positive way, if you remember the Christmas special advert from 2017 and 2014 when the company again successfully utilize the storytelling approach and make us wonder (#Monty the Penguin), this year the connection between the two brands and what they offer are inconsistent. It is not crystal clear how the story connects with what we are likely to receive by going to the store, which can confuse and even irritate some customers if not disappoint them. Waitrose rarely takes the initiative to create a Christmas special advert given the successful reputation the company has, following that the partnership with Lewis can be explained in terms of a reminder that the special season requires particular attention to the food’s quality. All in all, the public may adore the commercial, but would that prompt them to go to the stores?
