It’s November and that means one thing in advertising: Christmas ads. Each week, B&T will round up the ads that caught our attention.
Erste Group, Your Spark Can Light Up The World’, Jung von Matt Donau
On production value alone, this Austrian ad probably wins Christmas. It tells the story of how Silent Night was first created by a priest and his music teacher friend in an Austrian village in 1818. The song has then spread across the world over the ages and become a source of comfort in many contexts. The three-minute hero film was directed by Daniel & Szymon and in six days has been watched nearly six million times. B&T admits it had to look up who Erste Group was – they’re an Austrian bank – but this spot will ensure they stay long in the memory bank.
Posten, ‘The Reinfall’, Pol
If Erste Group wins on production value, Posten has smashed it out of the park on comedy, storytelling and dark comedy. In fact, this could be one of the greatest Christmas spots B&T has seen. The Norwegian Postal Service has told the story of how Rudolf the reindeer allowed his newfound fame as lead reindeer get to his head. It takes the format of a celebrity mockumentary using human actors with antlers. Once Rudolf gets the nod to lead the team, they begin working out, bonding and becoming a crack present delivery service, but there’s one problem: only one of the reindeer is getting all the credit and fame that goes with it. Rudolf’s fame lands him TV interviews, fast cars and huge cribs, his world spinning out of control and gong to his head until the inevitable burnout. And when the reindeer collective is no longer able to deliver gifts with their depleted squad, Posten steps in. This really is a masterpiece by Pol and Posten.
Orange, ‘Saferphone’, Publicis Conseil
French telco Orange tackles the perennial battle between parents and teenagers over whether they should give them a smartphone for Christmas. Set to the tune of Carol of the Bells, the children demand phones and the parents resist in this beautifully written and epic spot. The film, produced by BIG and directed by Réalité, reaches a product-focused conclusion at the end, as Orange introduces a device called SaferPhone.
Waitrose, ‘Armchair Detectives’, Wonderhood Makers
Anyone who loves Line Of Duty *raises hand* will enjoy the latest installation of Waitrose Armchair Detectives social media spot, which even features a ‘Reuben Rarebit incident’. Detectives Vicky McClure and Martin Compston continue their investigation ahead of the great Christmas ad reveal which is due out this week.
Papa Johns, ‘Hangover Help’, Bicycle London
When B&T came across an ad called ‘Hangover Help’ our ears immediately pricked up. But a few seconds into this spot, it became apparent it was all a trap. A hungover woman has ordered pizza to help her deal with last night’s sins. When she opens the door, a delivery guy bursts out into the rather irritating carol Ding Dong Merrily on High. Other iterations of the ad have different songs, but you get the gist. Domino’s, anyone?
Pepsi Max, ‘It Can Wait’, Sips & Bites (in-house agency)
Pepsi Max has come up with an interesting and rather original concept for its Chrissie spot. Offices and gyms are empty because working and gyming people, presumably, are on holiday, partying, boozing and having fun. Who would’ve thunk that’s what folks actually do during Christmas? The creative is set to a modern take on ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’ –– oh the irony!
Carlsberg, ‘Christmas Jumper’, Fold 7
Carlsberg has taken on a distinctly football theme to its Christmas campaign by releasing ‘probably’ the best Christmas jumpers out there. It mashes Brit’s love for garish winter warmers with a football kit-style reveal. B&T isn’t sure these are the best jumpers out there, or how you’d even measure that, but this newsroom certainly wouldn’t say ‘no’.
John Lewis, ‘The Gifting Hour’, Saatchi & Saatchi
Cute furry characters, aliens and fire breathing dragons did not make the cut in this year’s John Lewis Christmas ad by Saatchi & Saatchi. In this year’s ad, the heroine Sally has left it a little late to find the right gift for her sister this year and races into a John Lewis store at closing time. She then falls through a rack of dresses and is transported to a fantastical world, landing in the attic of her childhood home and going on a trip down memory lane before reemerging at the John Lewis with a present gift wrapped and her sister waiting outside. A great soundtrack in Richard Ashcroft’s Sonnet ties it all together.
McDonald’s, ‘The Gift of McDonald’s’, Leo Burnett
McDonald’s lights up this year’s Christmas with a street lights extravaganza that would leave some parts of the Hills District jealous. The film shows parents, having ticked on their Christmas shopping, driving home when one of them notices the golden arches in the distance. The song Satisfaction, by Benny Benassi, then begins and all of the streets and houses light up.
The Entertainer, ‘Ray’, Adam&Eve/DDB
After years of brilliance with John Lewis, the bright sparks at Adam&Eve have delivered this charming, and funny spot about purple monster Ray, who has massive FOMO while watching children play with other toys. Set to Roxette’s It Must Have Been Love, B&T are certainly loving this light hearted approach for British toy shop The Entertainer.
Coca-Cola, ‘The Holidays Are Coming’
Coca-Cola rolls out its famous red truck once again but with a modern twist – it’s all created by Gen AI. This got industry chins wagging but seems to still be working, according to System1 tests. Nonetheless, Coke is ahead of the curve in finding a great way to such an iconi campaign a GenAI makeover.
Capital One, ‘Holiday Night Fever, GSD&M
John Travolta plays disco Santa Claus in this spot for fintech company Capitol One. The film is set in Brooklyn to the Bee Gees tune Stayin’ Alive.
Tesco, ‘Helping Feed Your Christmas Spirit’, BBH London
Gary’s Christmas is an emotional rollercoaster as everything around him turns into gingerbread creations. He misses his grandmother, who passed away and he used to bake with, but then enjoys a tender moment with his grandad recreating the gingerbread houses of his youth. This Tesco and Bartle Bogle Hegarty London film is beautiful and set to On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz.
JD Sports, ‘The Family Portrait’, Uncommon Studios
JD Sports have reframed the modern day family with a slew of cameos in the beautifully crafted and tender piece by Uncommon Creative Studio.
Set to a fresh take of Wanna by Jamie XX, includes Liverpool FC’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and mixed martial artist Paddy Pimblett and a host of others enjoying family festive moments.
Kroger, The Case of Disappearing Food’, Adam&EveDDB New York
The film stars Kroger’s animated characters, Kroji’s who share the power of sharing food at Christmas, a time when some are lonely and without. A young boy notices an older woman’s despair and begins to take the food from his own family’s holiday dinner to surprise her. The family then join her for a Christmas feast the film is set to the track Lonely People by America.
Disney, ‘The Boy & the Octopus’, Adam&EveDDB
Disney’s annual Christmas short follows a friendship between a little boy and an octopus, who attaches his tentacles to the boy’s head during a swim at the beach, and then doesn’t let go. The pair take polaroid selfies, practise martial arts and explore a Christmas market together with plenty of Easter egg nods to Disney’s back catalogue. However the octopus wants to stretch his tentacles much further and the boy hatches a plan for the sea critter to catch a ride with Santa Claus. The film, which has E.T. vibes, was directed by New Zealand’s Taika Waititi.
Lego, ‘Cataclaws’, by Our Lego Agency
This Lego creation celebrates play with a new Chrisse character called Cataclaws. It shows Chritmas chaos with adults getting ready for the big day only to be disrupted by the festive cat made from Lego bricks. As per usual, it’s Lego and fun.
Barbour, ‘Shaun the Sheep x Baa-bour’, by Aardman Studios
British waxed apparel brand Barbour has collaborated with Aardman Studios for a Christmas campaign starring the much-loved children’s character, Shaun the Sheep.
The hilarious 70-second stop-motion animation features a farmer’s dog attempting to herd a flock of sheep to form a Christmas choir. The sheep, however, are far too cold to sing and turn into icicles, so the well-heeled dog races to the shop and buys them Barbour scarfs for the sheep to rug up in.
Amazon, ‘Midnight Opus’, in-house
B&T reckons this one is a banger. A cleaner with a wonderful voice sings to himself and is overheard by colleagues, who buy him a tuxedo from Amazon so that he can perform What the World Needs Now Is Love, by Burt Bacharach and Hal David on stage. The beautifully crafted film was directed by Hungry Man’s Wayne McClammy.
M&S, ‘Christmas Food’, in-house
Dawn French returns for a double act in M&S Food’s Christmas TV spot. French returns as Fairy, which she voices, and also stars as a lady who initially tries to shoo Fairy away before Fairy uses her magic wand to clean the lady’s house and dress up her living room in Christmas decorations just in time for the neighbours to arrive and eat all of her M&S food. M&S Food head of creative Rich Robinson and head of marketing Robbie Black lead the creative, which scored a maximum 5.9 rating by System1.
M&S Clothing & Home, ‘Christmas Starts Here’, By Mother
Continuing with the dancing theme, The British department store has created an ad with Briatain’s Got Talent star Skylar Blue, who dances around her home to the tune I Believe in Miracles by Jackson Sisters.
Boots, ‘The Christmas makeover,’ by VML/The Pharm
Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh fronts this Christmas spot as Mrs Claus walking in to find Santa Claus asleep. She takes over the gifting operation with the help of elves in a film directed by Radical’s Dave Meyers.
John Lewis, ‘Give Knowingly’, by Saatchi & Saatchi
This is the second of a three-series Christmas campaign and has received a mixed response. It celebrates the gift of giving thoughtful gifts for loved ones and will come in eight iterations. This particular spot showcases a pink jumper that a mother gives her daughter which becomes cherished over time. In September, John Lewis released its first Christmas ad where its famous Christmas windows took centre stage. All eyes will be peeled for when John Lewis’s third Christmas ad drops.
Sainsbury’s, ‘BIG Christmas’, New Commercial Arts
British supermarket Sainsbury’s has teamed up with Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant (BFG) in a spot by WPP’s new acquisition, New Commercial Art. Short of inspiring Christmas food treats at his cavern abode, the BFG meets Sophie, a real-life Sainsbury’s shop assistant, and goes on a journey to gather fresh ingredients from Sainsbury’s trusted suppliers, from salmon and Brussels sprouts to classic Stilton cheese. Their quest culminates in a spread of holiday dishes in the BFG’s dream cave.
Etsy, ‘Waldo Anthem’, by Orchard
Another campaign that leans into gift giving, this US spot follows the protagonist from the 80s illustrated books Where’s Waldo (that’s Where’s Wally in the rest of the world) as he travels to different countries. “Wherever I go they always ask ‘Where’s Waldo?’ never ‘Who’s Waldo?’” Waldo laments, before meeting up with his friend Wenda, who gives him a personalised, engraved gift that’s perfect for him.
Asda, ‘The Gnome of Christmas’, Havas London
“Now is not the time for bad gnome puns” – except that is exactly the bedrock of this cheerful spot by the UK discount supermarket chain, Asda. Christmas appears doomed due to a snow storm, but Asda worker Bill summons a gnome army to help set up their shop in time for Christmas. There’s a gnome pun a penny in this ad that should endear its target audience (punters who don’t shop at Waitrose), although it’s not to the taste of everyone in the B&T newsroom. Gnome matter!
Debenhams, ‘Duh, Debenhams’, Exposure
Once a staple of the British high street for 200 years, Debenhams was acquired by Boohoo and has rebooted as an online retailer. This year’s Christmas campaign leans heavily into reminding shoppers that it is easy to avoid the rain and hassle of high street shopping: “Duh, Debenhams”. The ad is fronted by Shane Warne’s former flame, Elizabeth Hurley.
Argos, ‘Rockstar’, T&Pm
Trevor the guitar strumming dinosaur is the star of this ad by T&Pm. The toy dreams he is a rock star performing 20th Century Boy on a Christmas tree shaped by large Marshall speakers to a cheering crowd of Connies, his doll toy friend.
Very, ‘Let’s Make It Sparkle’, The Gate
A flock of flamingos spread their sparkly Christmas love in this colourful animated ad for online retailer, Very.
