Christmas
adverts have always provided a festive marker for me. My sister and I used to
wait impatiently for the Coca-Cola, holiday’s are coming advert. Seeing it was
akin to glimpsing Rudolph’s nose peaking over the horizon- a promise of the
festivities soon to come.
But when
did Christmas advertising become so competitive?
Over the
past fortnight, the heavyweights of British retail have been flexing their
media muscle, eager to gain audience approval and drive consumer conversation
through attention-grabbing television campaigns.
One of the
first big-brand efforts to run the critical gauntlet was that of Waitrose. The
up-market food retailer has chosen to shun big budget TV advertising this year,
instead giving the estimated 1 million pounds usually spent to charitable
causes. The result is an irritatingly pious offering, featuring Heston
Blumenthal and Delia Smith, being very vocal about just how socially aware
Waitrose is. It’s smug and seems to wave an implicit naughty finger at all the
other retailers, including sister company John Lewis, who have continued to toe
the blockbuster line. Clearly there’s no place for sisterhood in the
competitive retail Christmas.
Despite
this, John Lewis is claiming that its Christmas commercial, devised by
advertising greats Adam and Eve DDB, is its most successful yet. The advert,
which launched last weekend (10 November), has generated some 6,790 likes and
1,340 shares on Facebook so far and was trending last week on Twitter. Its 'go
that extra mile' message is illustrated by a snowman, who travels over mountains
and across streams, only to return with a hat and scarf set (presumably from
John Lewis), for his shivering snow wife. All this is set to a cover of The
Power of Love and is executed with a comic charm that has generated praise from
viewers and critics alike.
Alongside
the traditional, some say sentimental, ads this year, a worrying trend for
realism has emerged. Asda came under fire last week, after airing its Christmas
advert with the strapline, ‘Behind every great Christmas, there’s mum.’ The
commercial features a fraught mum, juggling the demands of a thankless family,
with Asda seemingly her only help. How the supermarket chain did not see the
furor this would cause, I do not know, but it has outraged both male and female
viewers, generating a strong reaction from fathers for justice who claim it
belittles the role of fathers at Christmas.
Television
advertising plays a huge part in communicating brand vision and ethos, and
there are obvious, safe ways to use it.
Nevertheless, be it in an effort to snatch the rare Christmas pound, or
mere creative competitiveness, retail brands are increasingly looking to create
impact with their seasonal advertising offerings. The problem is, the flip side
of impact is often risk. As Asda is now finding out, investing in advertising
that communicates controversial brand values can be a costly mistake,
especially as (according to my mother), all anyone really wants to see is Take
That dancing round a country house.
By Polly Robinson
