As Christmas approaches, big brands start to compete for the best Christmas advert of 2016, but which one is this year’s winner?
John Lewis has a reputation for creating the most epic Christmas advert year after year, but with other brands stepping their game up and a slight change in John Lewis’s usual approach, has John Lewis let it slip in 2016? Let’s take a look at some of Adido’s top picks for Christmas adverts this year to try and come to a conclusion!
Heathrow
Heathrow’s 2016 Christmas advert really has it all; cute ‘living’ teddy bears, love, family, a catchy song and a hidden surprise revealed right at the end. The traditional teddy bear design adds a touch of nostalgia for the viewer and as you’ll see at the end of the advert, the two teddies are actually representing a human grandmother and grandfather which stands as a metaphor for the fragility of our most loved family members.
The final strapline, ‘Coming home, the best gift of all’ recognises that Christmas is the time for everyone to come together and Heathrow helps people to do just that.
Mulberry
The luxury bags and accessories brand, Mulberry, is known for taking a more stylish approach to Christmas adverts, almost making fun of Christmas traditions, and this year’s advert is no different.
With an ad which will remind any viewer of their nativity play, we see a group of children acting as adults in a modern day Christmas scene, with resentful children heading home to spend time with their overbearing mother. This scene would appeal better to the brands wealthier target audience, with the children being well dressed and the mother playing a stereotypical high class mother, all in all making it a great effort from Mulberry for 2016.
Asda
This year, ASDA have gone with a series of short Christmas ads, each one playing the same musical jingle and ‘Christmas made better’ slogan to add that level of consistency which marries them altogether. While going down the route of a series of short ads does limit the story telling ability of the campaign, the message here is clear; ASDA have got you covered whatever your requirements this Christmas, with ads being much more targeted to specific products rather than just telling a story in order to create a buzz around the brand.
Tesco
I don’t want to say Tesco were lazy with their Christmas advert this year, but Tesco were lazy with their Christmas advert this year!
Set in a Tesco store, it shows a woman having the cynical view of ‘oh no not Christmas music in November’ as she starts to worry about the preparations for Christmas this year, until she starts to think of her happy memories and starts to get into the Christmas spirit herself. All in all, this made for quite an unimaginative advert and it seems most of the budget may have been blown on hiring Rob Brydon for his usual Tesco ad appearance.
Sainsbury's
Get yourself comfortable for this one, because Sainsbury’s have gone for a three and a half minute extravaganza of a Christmas ad this year! This one is aimed at all the hard working parents out there who have a lot to juggle at Christmas but just want to be there for their family.
Another Gavin and Stacey star appears in this ad, with James Cordon singing the song throughout which really adds to the appeal of this advert. What’s interesting with this ad is that it embraces new technological innovations with traditional filming techniques, with the main character ‘Dave’ having around 800 different facial expressions printed using a 3D printer for a stop frame story!
Aldi
Aldi’s ‘T’was the night before Christmas’ themed advert uses the traditional storytelling method with a loveable character, Kevin the carrot, taking the lead.
One of the best things about this ad was how it was promoted on social media, with a Kevin the carrot Twitter profile going live before the ad was released which teased the audience into thinking this was going to be the much anticipated John Lewis advert. There is even a separate ad where Kevin is showing his excitement for the John Lewis ad (below) which resonates well with the audience as Aldi are accepting that John Lewis are (or have been) the best at Christmas ads in the past so Kevin the carrot just wants to get a peek of the ad like everyone else does.
John Lewis Retail even followed up with a tweet of their own, spreading the Christmas love and appreciation...
M&s
This year, Marks and Spencer, who are usually not far behind John Lewis in the Christmas advert league tables, decided to give us a view of the hard work Mrs Claus does at Christmas too.
In an advert which reveals the dynamics of your average sibling rivalry, we hear a heart-warming narrative from a loving younger brother to Mrs Claus who sets out on a secret mission to make sure that family has the best Christmas ever. It could also be said this this ad is a nod to the hardworking housewives of the world who support their husbands and breaks down any stereotype of the housewives role being an easy job!
John lewis
#BusterTheBoxer has been circulating Social Media for a while now and while many people are besotted with the loveable pup, there is a definite murmur that John Lewis have let it slip this year as they move away from the emotional ‘sadvert’ which they usually opt for and have chosen a more light-hearted option. My feeling is that this advert doesn’t pack quite the punch of previous John Lewis ads, opening up an opportunity for other brands to take the limelight this year.
For me, the best ad of the bunch this year has got to be Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot. Not only has it got a loveable animated Christmas character on a quest to meet Father Christmas, but the build up around the campaign was brilliant, leading the audience to think this would be the much anticipated John Lewis advert and then even making reference to the brand in another short ad clip. It pokes fun at how obsessed we have become with Christmas adverts instead of following the crowd and trying to pull on the Nations heart strings. Instead it pulls on our funny bones and I like that!
