We’ve taken a look at some of this year’s biggest Christmas campaigns to see what crackers – and what turkeys – 2017 has in store for us.
John Lewis – Moz the Monster
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First up is John Lewis’ eagerly anticipated Moz the Monster campaign. This year’s TV ad ticks all the boxes as to what you might expect from a John Lewis ad, as does the rest of the campaign – Moz plush toys and children’s books included – but somehow this year’s ad doesn’t seem to incite the same fuzzy warmness of Buster the Boxer or the Man on the Moon. Perhaps it’s the lack of freshness that makes this year’s campaign fall a little short. John Lewis certainly cracked the Christmas campaign formula in the past, but the challenge they face in 2018 is how do they reinvent it?
Digital Glue’s rating: 4/10
Aldi – Kevin the Carrot
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Kevin the Carrot graced our screens last year in an absolutely cracking Christmas ad, complete with a social media campaign that really grabbed our attention.
Can anyone tell me who this John Lewis chap is? #KevinTheCarrot
— Kevin The Carrot (@KevinTheCarrot) November 4, 2016
This year, Kevin returns with his new girlfriend, Katie carrot. The ad is nice enough, but we think Aldi are perhaps relying too much on the success of last year’s campaign – with John Lewis falling short of the mark, this year’s top spot was an open goal. All that was needed was a little more creativity.
Digital Glue’s rating: 5/10
Marks and Spencer – Paddington and the Christmas Visitor
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Marks and Sparks are always hot on the heels of John Lewis, and this year they may have just pipped them with this charming ad featuring childhood-favourite Paddington Bear. They’ve gone down the classic route of a campaign targeting families, with cuddly toys and books to tie in with the campaign and of course the latest Paddington Bear movie, as well as a few little twists such as a section on their website dedicated to the best marmalade recipes. We like this campaign a lot – it’s festive, fun, and classically Christmas. The only downfall is that it’s just not different enough to stand out amongst every other campaign this year.
Digital Glue’s rating: 6/10
TK Maxx – ‘A White Christmas’
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Despite the traditional sounding campaign name, talk about Christmas with a twist. This ad might not feel super festive in the traditional sense, but it still ticks all the boxes for a great campaign. Following on from the release of the advert, which stars the voice of Bill Nighy, TK Maxx hid special snow globes in stores and online, and delivered real snow to those people who found them. This lucky family from Lincolnshire were one of TK Maxx’s winners, and they had their home transformed into a real winter wonderland, describing the feeling of a white Christmas as ‘magical’.
This campaign gets points for being fun, different, diverse, and for going beyond simply a TV advert. We only took a point off for not checking the weather forecast, but even when snow actually started falling in the UK last week, TK Maxx responded with an awesome edited advert which you can watch here. As the brand’s creative agency said, “We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when blanket snow hit the UK, but when you bet against Mother Nature, you’d better have Bill Nighy on speed dial.”
Digital Glue’s rating: 9/10
McDondald’s – Reindeer Ready
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And here we have a surprise entry for the cutest Christmas advert. That’s right, McDonald’s are well and truly tugging on the heartstrings with this sweet advert depicting a little girl clinging on to her Maccie’s carrot for Santa’s reindeer… only to realise she needs to go back and get another 12. As well as this, McDonald’s are doing more of what they do well – social media. The fast-food brand are giving away themed baubles and knitwear on social media, as well as partnering with Snapchat to host a game that tasks players with collecting carrots. We’re pretty impressed with McDonald’s, considering we had pinned our hopes on the likes of John Lewis and M&S. Let’s just say we’re lovin’ it.
Digital Glue’s rating: 10/10
