It’s that time of year again and the big retailers are going head to head with their Christmas adverts.
It’s that time of year again and the big retailers are going head to head with their Christmas adverts. First there is Marks and Spencer’s quirky twist on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, along with numerous other twisted fairy tales. The beautiful Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and gorgeous David Gandy make for a vast delight but you almost miss the product on offer because the glitz and glamour over take what should really be centre stage. The real treat is the surprise at the end, in the form of the completely wonderful and wacky Helena Bonham-Carter. I love M&S, they are often hugely underrated in their clothing lines and the food is delicious but why have they felt the need to glaze over this is beyond me. That said, it certainly gets me to the Christmas mood even if I miss the retailer it’s showcasing.
Next up is Debenhams and their ‘Christmas made fabulous’ tag line. Now this is better. The clothing is centre focus and rightly so. There are a few variations on this advert but my favourite is the ‘Youth’ themed one, the sparkle of Christmas outings leading up to the romance of ice skating in front of a beautiful building. The use of sketched clothing throughout the scenes really shouts about the ranges they have to offer. For me this is a perfect mix of product push and Christmas spirit. Is it a little boring and predictable? At least M&S tried to be a little bit adventurous even if I do think they missed the point of the advert. At least it kept me watching and I know that even if I watch it a few times, I will notice new things because there is so much going on. So has Debenhams missed the mark as well, by being too safe?
Highly Anticipated
Which leads me on to probably the most anticipated advert of the Christmas season, John Lewis. Three years ago they brought us Ellie Goulding and her emotional version of your song, two years ago it was The Long Wait – a little boys count down for Christmas, last year it was The Journey – who can forget the snowman’s little face as he travelled to get the perfect present? So it’s fair to say that excitement was mounting, I mean the fact we can remember adverts from years back shows how right John Lewis get it time after time so what did they do this year? Well first they started off with a teaser campaign. I can’t remember this having been done before for an advert, so correct me if I am wrong. They advertised a few days before the actual time and date the advert would air. So at 8.10pm on Saturday 9th Nov they premiered the long awaited advert. And did it disappoint? No, but then it wasn’t what we expected either. This time it was Disney-style cartoon. The bear and hare celebrate Christmas with their animal pals, after the perfect gift of an alarm clock wakes bear up from his hibernation. He doesn’t miss Christmas this year. The beautiful cover by Lily Allen of one of my favourite songs ‘Somewhere only we know’ only makes me love it more. Hang on though, what about the product? I missed it, only a handful of items were shown in this one because it was more about the story and tag line ‘give someone a Christmas they’ll never forget’.
Reigning victorious is…
So considering I dismissed M&S for not being clear on the product and rejected Debenhams for being too safe, how can I say I loved John Lewis? Well, because more thought has been behind this advertisement than you can imagine. Click on to the John Lewis website and you will find a page dedicated to their campaign, options of an ebook to continue the tail narrated by Lauren Laverne, photo opportunities with bear and hare in selected stores, Lily’s cover to be released on itunes and you can even buy a bear and hare to take home with you. Not to mention they also have their own twitter account. Might there be even more to come for bear and hare in future campaigns? I would certainly like to see them again.
I adore Christmas and think that these retailers have gone all out in their own way, I clearly have my favourite but I still appreciate what the others have to offer. Let’s face it though Christmas never truly begins until Coca Cola have been aired.
Which was your favourite? Do they entice you to spend more money? Have your say below.
Image by: Class V
