Christmas Ads of 2014 – The Good, the Bad, the Adorable and the Bizarre
1. John Lewis – Monty the Penguin
Once again, John Lewis has struck gold with their Christmas advert. This adorable advert shows a young boy spending time with his best friend, Monty the penguin. It provides a great story with Monty searching for love, and John Lewis has perfectly optimised merchandise opportunities with a range of Monty products available in their stores. This includes clothing, the soundtrack from the advert, a book, pyjamas, cushions and of course the soft toy which has sold out. John Lewis has found a very different way to keep their brand recognised during the Christmas season, and this method has succeeded for them once again.
Score: 9/10
2. Sainsbury’s – Christmas is for sharing
Sainsbury’s is the big contender to John Lewis’ Christmas ad crown this year. Their World War I themed ad has been very popular, with many even preferring it to the John Lewis ad. They have certainly taken a different take with their ad that is based on the events of Christmas Day 1914, when a cease fire was called between British and German troops in the trenches. The ad perfectly captures the melancholy of the wartime setting, along with the truly special nature of Christmas.
Score: 8/10
3. Boots – Because she’s special
This advert features a family coming together in the middle of the night between Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It is revealed that they are travelling together to surprise a member of their family as she has been working all of Christmas day as a nurse at the hospital. This advert is very special as it shows that Christmas day itself isn’t always special for everyone, but the Christmas spirit can still exist when families come together. Working on Christmas Day is a reality for many British people, especially in services such as nursing, and it’s great that this is being recognised.
Score: 8/10
4. Sky – Step into the Movies
Sky has created an advert that shows a family truly getting involved with movies at Christmas – by actually being in them! The family traverse the film landscape including visits into The Muppets, Amazing Spiderman, The Lego Movie and of course, Frozen. This advert uses the products from Sky Movies to demonstrate what they offer without being too cheesy about it.
Score: 7/10
5. Aldi – Everyone’s coming to us this Christmas
Aldi are showing a diverse Christmas in their ad. They show a panning view of many different tables at Christmas, including naval officers, young families, older people, housemates, Australians, firemen, astronauts and Jools Holland.
Score: 7/10
6. B&Q – Unleash Christmas
B&Q’s ad definitely brings in the bizarre. With its soundtrack of Snap!s “The Power”, you’d think it wouldn’t be very Christmassy. The ad shows people ‘unleashing Christmas’ on their home, by getting to the feet and spontaneously transforming into an orange-apron-wearing, Christmas addicted superhero. Of course.
Score: 6/10
7. Halfords – Does anything beat a bike?
Halfords are trying to take us back to the back roots of Christmas past. This ad seems like a step back into our childhoods, when Christmas was less of a commercial event, and more of a staying home with family occasion. It’s very simple, and reminds us of what getting a bike for Christmas as a kid was like.
Score: 6/10
8. Coca cola – Give a little happiness
Coca cola’s ads have become an iconic element of the Christmas season. Many believe it’s not Christmas until they’ve seen the famed Coca cola lorry on their TV screens. This year’s ad features people doing good deeds. It works well, even if it goes a little out of the realms of reality with its acts of kindness.
Score: 5/10
9. Waitrose – Gingerbread stall
The storyline of this advert follows a shy young girl as she endeavours for the school gingerbread stall to be a success. She succeeds eventually with the help of a Waitrose employee, who points her in the right direction. This ad is clearly designed to evoke an emotional response, but I can’t help but think the teacher in the ad should have just asked a wiling student, instead of forcing a shy child to do something she didn’t want to. But perhaps that’s just me being cynical.
Score: 5/10
10. Lidl – The little present
This advert for Lidl is desperately screaming that despite their low value, they sell decent food! The advert shows a group of people sitting around a large table eating a Christmas dinner. They speculate about the shop that’s hosting them – Marks and Spencer? Waitrose? And they’re all shocked to find that it’s Lidl. It gets the point across, but is perhaps a little blunt about it.
Score: 5/10
11. The Post Office – Get Christmas all wrapped up
This ad, starring comedian Robert Webb in the main role, and singer Pixie Lott appearing out of the blue, is unremarkable. It shows how the Post Office works, and is for the most part not at all memorable despite Robert Webb’s eccentric character. The show stealer though is his assistant, a dachshund in a suit. Nothing is better than a sausage dog in a suit!
Score: 4/10
12. Debenhams – Found it
Debenhams have gone for the cute-kids-angle with their festive advert. It shows lots of young children hiding out in a shopping centre after dark to seek out gifts for their families and themselves. The ad has a novel idea, but it’s not really anything special.
Score: 4/10
13. Morrisons – Make Christmas special
The musical theme has been picked up by Morrisons. They have a very plain ad showing Chritmas scenes and their often-used celebrities Ant and Dec, and have all the people sing ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’. A reminder of how tacky Christmas can be.
Score: 3/10
14. Marks and spencer – Follow the fairies
This ad shows two fairies doing a range of good deeds around Christmas time, such as turning ordinary clothes into party clothes. Which I’m sure is supposed to be a good deed, but may cause difficulty when you want to trim the hedge or do some decorating, and all you have is a glittery party dress. They also break someone’s television, steal a hat and cause it to snow. The ‘flying’ effect is quite ungainly, and the message of the advert is very much unclear.
Score: 2/10
15. Vodafone – Let it Go
Vodafone’s attempt to attach themselves to the success of Frozen seems desperate and poorly thought out. They show a range of people singing along to Frozen’s memorable song ‘Let it Go’ in their ad as they go about their jobs. The ad is trying to attach itself to the successful film but seems like an elderly relative trying to appear ‘hip’ by attempting to rap with the kids. Try harder next year, Vodafone.
Score: 1/10