It’s that wonderful time of year again. Everyone is feeling festive, there’s an abundance of snacks in the office, and we’re ending every week with a few team drinks. Oh, and we’ve also been enjoying all the different Christmas campaigns sledding our way.
Here are a few of our favourite Christmas campaigns of 2018, along with some quotes from the team. I may have made them up.
BBC One – Christmas time together
Created by BBC’s in-house agency, BBC Creative, the ad makes people – and time – stop and think about the things that are really important to them. Forget the chaos of life, work, and Christmas prep and spend precious time with your family. More info here.
“I welled up at my desk with no shame. I’d do it again, too. ” – Ryan Noble, digital content marketing manager.
Phil Beastall (independent) – Love is a gift
The nation was blown away by this Christmas ‘advert’ from independent filmmaker, Phil Beastall. He actually made it back in 2014 and decided to share it with the world again this year, likely after seeing the lacklustre John Lewis advert. More info here.
“I cried code for a week after watching this.” – Adam Cox, technical director.
Lidl (and pals) – A Lidl bit of a parody…
Just because you don’t have £872 to spend on a piano, doesn’t mean you can’t be the next Elton. #EltonJohnLewis pic.twitter.com/TakObmWfqr
— Lidl UK (@LidlUK) November 15, 2018
If you haven’t watched the John Lewis advert yet, this won’t make much sense, but let’s just say it hit the wrong note with viewers… Luckily, Lidl were ready with their own parody, promoting their own-brand keyboards for a fraction of the price with an Elton-inspired slogan.
Watch the ad above and then enjoy all the parodies from brands who jumped on the bandwagon.
“I went straight out and bought a Lidl keyboard, so expect to see my name in lights soon.” – Matt Bowell, client services and operations director.
Waitrose – Too good to wait
Given that John Lewis and Waitrose are now ‘partners’, Waitrose’s ad was creatively smart, linking the two brands together by featuring the John Lewis ad, but putting a completely different spin on it. Here, the focus was very much on humour and quality food, as the family fast-forward through the ad that people wait months for in favour of getting to dessert. Sadly, it looks like the advert has since been removed from YouTube. Perhaps Elton wasn’t a fan?
“I fast-forwarded through the Elton John advert, too, so I completely understand.” – Vicki Cooper, front-end developer.
The Entertainer – Putting their beliefs on display
This brand has dedicated entire windows to promote a message they believe in, which is an extremely bold move when window real estate is so valuable. While most companies think money makes the world go round, this company has sacrificed sales to promote a belief. Although, it’s not as surprising when you know that they also close all their stores on Sundays and last year, when Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday, they closed then, too (losing out on approx. £2.3m in sales).
“This isn’t going to win awards for best Christmas campaign, but it should certainly be noted for its boldness. I’m off to buy some Nerf guns.” – James Johnston, lead project manager.
Iceland – #NoPalmOilChristmas
It’s been talked about a lot already, but that’s exactly why it made the list. Iceland’s collaboration with Greenpeace to highlight the dangers of deforestation was a powerful stance and they backed it up by removing all of their own-label products containing palm oil. We even took the time to dissect the creatively brave advert.
“Where can I buy an orangutan? Asking for a friend.” – Scott Barker, lead designer.
And there you have it, our favourite Christmas campaigns on 2018… Are there any campaigns you loved that aren’t here? Let us know.
And, from all of us here at Connecting Element, have the best Christmas.
Whoever you’re spending it with and wherever you’re celebrating, remember to slow things down, share the gift of love, crack a lidl joke, go straight for dessert if you want to, stand by your beliefs, and maybe lay off the palm oil… Merry Christmas!