Christmas advertising is super competitive, with the media and public eagerly awaiting showstoppers from the likes of John Lewis. This year has seen somewhat of a different approach to the adverts, with a real mixed bag of messages and perspectives, but tearjerkers are certainly less of a focus, with positive messages and illustrations coming to the fore.
Foxes, #BustertheBoxer, hedgehogs, badgers, and a penchant for bouncing - not what we have come to expect from this retail powerhouse, but they decided to go along a more positive stream considering how tough 2016 has been as a year for many. It’s been getting very mixed reviews but it has had over 18 million views on Youtube alone so far…
Kevin the carrot, voiced by Jim Broadbent, is a vegetable with bags of ambition. He is eager to meet Santa and is not about to let any festive treats or ’danger’ get in his way. A brave move for an advert (and perhaps a bit of a dig at John Lewis's superproduced ads?), it’s a personal favourite this year!
This year’s ad says goodbye to Mog the cat and hello to a super busy dad. He doesn’t have enough time to get everything done that needs doing as well as spend quality time with the family so comes up with a novel solution. You may find yourself singing or humming this song at the most random of moments.
Little girl encourages Santa’s elves to retrain as researchers in order to find a cure for the illness that has afflicted their boss, Alzheimer’s, in this animated tale that deals with a serious theme with plenty of seasonal charm.
Mum (Ruth) and dad (Ben) doing a food shop and thinking of Christmas’s past – the Tesco family are back for the second year running. Must admit I’m not at all a fan and find it rather irritating.
Waitrose seems to have swapped positions with their sister company John Lewis this year, showing the rather epic journey of one plucky robin who is trying to make his way home for Christmas. Complete with Planet Earth-style narrative.
Efficacy is the name of the game this year, with #LidlSurprises providing insight as to the treatment of the turkeys reaching the shelves. You may well imagine awful surroundings for the turkeys purchased by Lidl, but they are showing this is not at all the case – comfy and happy turkeys!
Quite the blockbuster, the M&S ad is slick and festively cheesy, but it works – pulling on the heartstrings just the right amount (or so we have been told). It turns out that Mrs Clause is quite busy over Christmas too, not just her hubby!
For 70 years Heathrow has been reconnecting people with their loved ones throughout the year, but those Christmas trips mean that little bit more – when friends and family are the best gift of all. My other favourite – it is adorable!
Random and quirky – this ad combines a Christmas sing-song with a very non typical Christmas tune. A nice surprise, you cannot help but watch, with maybe a little smirk on your face.
We know we have left out Harvey Nichols, Morrisons, Asda, NotOnTheHighStreet, Argos and many more, but we simply had too many to pick from!
To check out more about our thoughts on Buster, check out our blog post.
