It’s that time of year – the world is gradually turning Christmas-crazy. A lot of us try and fight it throughout November (it’s definitely an issue that divides the ASSISTED. office) but let’s face it, it’s as good as officially here, right?
That’s why brands big and small are focusing their energy on Christmas campaigns so unsurprisingly, there is a theme to our favourite marketing campaigns in November. Get your santa hats on and finally click play on the Christmas playlist. In the words of Christmas legends Slade… it’s Christmaaaaaaaaaas!
This is the Christmas advert that everyone has been talking about – perhaps more so than the consistently anticipated John Lewis advert. It’s IKEA’s first ever Christmas ad and they’ve smashed it out of the park. The ad features a family being taunted and home-shamed by their kitsch ornaments who are spitting grime bars. Say no more. Genius.
All humour aside, this advert focuses on the phenomenon of ‘home shame’, encouraging people to overcome the negative voices in their head holding them back from opening up their homes. Christmas is often a time for hosting and spending time with loved ones, but many people may feel a looming sense of dread when welcoming others into their homes. This campaign aims to inspire consumers to get their homes party-ready and ‘Silence the Critics’, once and for all.
Of course, no November marketing campaign round-up would be complete without the John Lewis advert. Love them or loathe them, it’s become an adored part of Christmas traditions in the UK, propelling itself to the dizzy heights of the Coca-Cola advert with its power to signal the start of Christmas. In their first ever joint Christmas campaign, John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners have created an advert which tells the heartwarming story of a little girl, Ava, and her friendship with an excitable young dragon, Edgar.
The crutch here was striking the perfect blend of both brands DNA, injecting both the comedy and humour of Waitrose adverts and the tear-jerking speciality of John Lewis – something they have certainly balanced successfully with Edgar’s natural instinct to breathe fire getting him into some tight but funny situations, but the ultimate sadness this brings to him and his role to play in the village. Another Christmas, another much loved John Lewis advert.
Guess what – it’s another Christmas campaign. Again, no Christmas campaign round-up is complete without a contribution from one of the UK’s major supermarkets. Enter, Tesco. Their 2019 Christmas campaign celebrates their 100th year with a time-travelling delivery van and its driver who journey through the decades – from Dickensian England, to Winston Churchill at No 10, to a young Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, to various Christmas parties, including a rave.
Along with this Christmas TV advert, the campaign has also pushed a Snapchat augmented reality lens and a Facebook arcade game that allows customers to get behind the wheel of the delivery fan. Not only this, but the delivery driver who stars in the advert will be appearing on screens across programming in the run-up to Christmas on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. For their 100th year, Tesco are leaving no corner un-sprinkled with Christmas magic.