14 Dec The Annual Festive TV Ad Round-up
To say it’s been a challenging year is an understatement of epic proportions. But there is hope at the end of what has been a long, dark tunnel and Christmas (that was for a time looking uncertain) has been given the green light! A massive relief to all of us who need a bit of tinsel in our lives.
And more than ever, we’ve needed the much-anticipated annual festive TV ads to step up and entertain us as they’ve never entertained us before and we’re happy to report that, by and large, they’ve done just that…
Coca-Cola (has had numerous Product of the Year Winners) have pulled out all the stops this year and given us an epic tear-jerker that is beautifully shot and perfectly judged. And it doesn’t matter how many times you watch it but the moment at the end when dad reads his daughter’s letter to Santa will have you choking back the tears and reaching for the kitchen roll…
Which seamlessly (?) leads us to the darkly ingenious and entertaining Plenty #XMess spot (previous Product of the Year winner and won with Plenty Handy Towels in 2020).
A warts and all catalogue of the disasters and eccentricities of a ‘normal’ family Christmas day – it’s a Xmas ad that breaks all the rules. A baby projectile vomiting; the cat missing the litter tray and the greasy turkey ending up on the kitchen floor are just some of the events captured in an ad that will have you wincing and chuckling in equal measure. It also has the most brilliant endline that makes perfect sense of the madness and the mayhem: “It’s always a mess but it’s our mess and there’s nowhere we’d rather be”. Big, bold, brave and quite brilliant.
Argos has also hit the right note this year with its enchanting advert that is joyous, joyful and entertaining with a capital ‘E’. Abracadaisy And The Incredible Lucy tells the tale of two young girls who discover a box of magic tricks and ‘put on a show’ to entertain the family. Created by The&Partnership it takes us on a wonderful journey of imagination to the soundtrack of Gary Barlow’s Incredible. Festive, fun and simply magical.
A very different dose of seasonal fun comes in the colour beige courtesy of Gucci who have gone full-on 70’s retro office party. Nostalgic and achingly cool it captures the decade of bad taste beautifully and they even throw in the photocopying of a Gucci clutchbag! Only gripe is the Yazoo soundtrack which is fun but misses the mark by a decade…
We also love Boots for judging the mood of a nation and giving us a simple ad with a powerful message and a call to action to help fight hygiene poverty and M&S who have also come good by pledging money to charities chosen by the nine celebs who provide the voiceovers.
Amazon’s spot ‘the show must go on’ of a young dancer denied her chance to perform is charming and heartfelt and TK Maxx have stood out for featuring a sassy goat with attitude! We were also seduced by Tesco’s message that there is ‘no naughty list’ and John Lewis’s seasonal offer that comes with a simple and hugely important message to a beleaguered but battling nation: “Give a little love”.
Which ever one is your favourite, hats off to a host of great ads that judged the moment and hit the mark perfectly.
Happy Happy Christmas to you all.