Christmas is when miracles happen. And that includes the world of advertising: at any other time of the year, we usually skip the ads playing before YouTube videos. But at Christmas, we watch them from start to finish. It is a time when many brands bring out memorable ads that keep us glued to the screen and, sometimes, bring tears to the eye.
In this post, we take a look at some of the best ads for Christmas 2017, those that touched us and made us smile. Make sure you’ve got tissues handy, because you’ll need them!
Our top 5 Christmas adverts
Here are the 5 advertising campaigns that topped our list of favourites. Top spot goes to the John Lewis Christmas ad. Its launch was preceded by a host of marketing actions featuring Moz the Monster: from Moz pyjamas, mugs and cuddly toys to a Spotify playlist from the ads. So let’s watch this mini fairy-tale, because it really is beautiful.
It’s the story of a little boy who can’t sleep at night because a clumsy, noisy monster has moved in under his bed. The two become friends, but Moz the Monster realises he can’t stay there much longer. He moves out, but not before leaving for the kid, under the Christmas tree, a gift that ‘brightens the world’ .
To make this ad, the brand turned to visionary director Michel Gondry, who told the story to the soundtrack of a cover of the Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers”. Interesting fact: the two-minute film cost a million pounds to produce and more than six million in marketing and media placement.
Second place goes to an equally touching campaign by Swiss supermarket chain Migros.
It’s a story that straddles the worlds of fantasy and reality. It stars a little creature who reads the bar codes of the supermarket’s products at the checkout. It’s a lonely life that becomes almost unbearable as Christmas draws near. Happily, one of the supermarket’s cashiers discovers the little creature and helps it feel less lonesome.
The company is addressing the important social issue of loneliness by dedicating the ad to those less fortunate. The slogan is “Let’s leave nobody on their own. Let’s give together”. Hard not to be moved.
In third place is the Christmas campaign for Debenhams, which tells a love story for incurable romantics.
Love strikes on a train: two twentysomethings lose one another, then find one another again by chance. A celebrity voice-over – by Ewan McGregor – tells a dreamy love story inspired by Cinderella but set in the web 2.0 era. It’s about chance and what we find when we’re not looking.
Romantics shouldn’t put their tissues away just yet because in fourth place is the ad by Apple, one that, once again, tells a love story.
A girl dances as if immersed in a dream. She dances to the strains of “Palace” by Sam Smith playing on her headphones. Halfway through the dance, she meets/bumps into a guy: the music stops and reality returns, but not for long. Because as soon as the girl sticks a headphone in the guy’s ear, the couple begin a romantic dance. “Move someone this holiday” goes the campaign’s slogan. The ad stars professional dancers Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Grant, husband and wife in real life.
Something else is going on in this ad. The dancers are transported into a magical world by the Apple products showcased by the ad: the iPhone X, the AirPods Bluetooth headphones and Apple Music. It is the products that make the dream come true.
The last campaign we’re going to look at is by PayPal. The company has decided to give us its own take on Christmas, with a tone that’s very different to other brands.
PayPal goes for humour. In its ad, it shows the moment that gifts are exchanged from the point of view of people who’ve bought the wrong presents: people hide them, switch them and even throw them in the fireplace. It’s ridiculous, but very real too. The brand is sympathising with everyone who, at some point in their life, has chosen the wrong gift. The final slogan is an encouraging pat on the back: if you get the wrong present, don’t worry, because PayPal will refund your delivery costs.
We started with tears, and ended with a smile. Happy New Year from Pixartprinting!