**There is one time every year when the countries most-loved brands go head to head with one goal in mind, to be at the top of the nations shopping lists. That time is Christmas.**
Almost every area of consumer purchasing gets caught up in the Christmas rush, from food for the big day to the presents under the tree. Being such a lucrative time of year, companies increase advertising budgets in an attempt to be the owner of the best Christmas advert out there.
This has lead to some of the most iconic campaigns of all time and 2012 is no different. As well as the iconic (youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VHmzRsWXuW4 text: Coca Cola ‘Holidays are Coming’ advert), this years’ festive offerings have been making us laugh and cry already.
Here we take a look at some of the best Christmas ad campaigns, to help you get in the festive spirit:
**Marks and Spencer**
Marks and Spencer stick with the age-old classic of celebrity endorsement, which mixed with top-notch production, actually works quite well and has resulted in them having a few Christmas hits of their own.
The celebrity lifestyle is one that is looked upon by many as the ideal, so linking this in with the perfect idea of Christmas was a very clever way to ensure M&S got back into the heart of the consumer during a time when the the company’s future was looking rather bleak.
According to (link: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/john-lewis-christmas-ad-trails-rivals-for-converting-shoppers/4004845.article text: Marketing Week), their 2012 offering has proved to be extremely popular with those who have seen the advert. 20% of those who saw it, said they would definitely convert and shop at the store.
**John Lewis**
John Lewis’ Christmas campaigns have taken a more progressive but equally successful route. Due to the department store nature of the company, they are able to directly associate themselves with Christmas and the present buying process.
Since 2006 John Lewis has been building upon the idea of the perfect gift – one of the most important parts of Christmas for many, and how the perfect gift can be found in their stores, culminating in last Christmas’ magical depiction of a child that is more excited about the gift he’s going to give, than the ones he receives.
John Lewis are becoming the masters of creating fantastically composed TV ads that leave you with that warm fuzzy feeling! This years’ advert tells the story of two snowmen, making the journey to be together at Christmas.
Marketing Week discovered that this advertising campaign has driven a 7.6% year-on-year sales increase since its debut. This just goes to show how effective festive adverts are, even in the age of the Internet and social media.
Christmas represents many things in different ways to a lot of people, whether its all about the presents, meeting up with family, dusting off the old board games, eating far too much, or watching favourite Christmas movies.
All of these experiences come together to create one nostalgic memory that we look forward to reliving each and every year and the best and most famous adverts play on this.
Yes, every year we do wait for the advert break in the X-Factor to see what Christmas magic John Lewis have to offer, but it can never quite match the little smile that you get on your face when you see those red trucks rolling through the town covered in more lights than you’d find on a dozen Christmas trees.
**Coca Cola**
How could we not mention the Coca Cola trucks advert – one of the most successful Christmas advertising campaigns of all time.
The funny thing is, Coca Cola have cleverly managed to make an emotive connection with Christmas – a time of year that has absolutely nothing to do with coke!
This campaign has been freshened up and bought into the 21st century over the last few years with the Coca Cola truck – lights and all, touring the country, bringing uncontrollable excitement to extremely bored children stuck in the back of cars over their Christmas holidays. Coca Colas campaign has snowballed over the years due to the repetition associated with Christmas.
Based on the examples from some of the Worlds’ leaders, for a successful Christmas advertising campaign you need to make an emotional connection with the audience – bringing home whatever Christmas might mean to them.
As a specialist (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/advertising/ text: advertising agency in the Midlands popup: true title: Advertising), we can help you bring your 2013 Christmas campaigns to life. (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/contact/ text: Drop us a message popup: true title: Contact) today to see how.