In case you hadn’t already noticed, this year’s Christmas ads – with everything from Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot landing head-first in a snowman’s groin to John Lewis’ skateboarding foster dad – are a bit of a mixed bag.
The difference in tone between the campaigns is significant.
While some are going full-on fairytale and celebrating everything that is wonderful about the festive season, others are taking the opportunity to focus on the ‘real meaning of Christmas’.
The importance of finding the right balance is felt particularly keenly in the grocery sector. Supermarkets have to acknowledge the soaring rate of food inflation on one hand, while also making sure consumers know that they’ve got a new range of mince pies out on the other.
With the country on the brink of recession, hitting the right tone this Christmas was always going to be a tricky one for supermarket creative agencies to call.
Kantar UK head of creative excellence Lynne Deason says advertisers have needed to be “mindful of the economic pressures” faced by many households this year. The challenge, she adds, is in “balancing the fun, joyful spirit that we love about Christmas ads without showing lavish displays of excess”.
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Deason says that retailers like John Lewis have navigated this well by “focusing on the real meaning of Christmas – of togetherness, family and giving”.
Retailers who are “doing their bit to help people this festive season”, are likely to have their efforts remembered and appreciated by consumers in the long term. Alongside John Lewis’ support for Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland, M&S and Tesco have both made sizeable gifts to charities, while Aldi is actively supporting Neighbourly once again.
However, these more community-minded ads also offer consumers something tangible.
“In times of crisis, nostalgia is something people turn to for reassurance and comfort and both Asda and Aldi cleverly tap into Christmas culture this year,” says Deason.
“These two ads also deliver some much-needed joy. We know that consumers love Christmas ads because they make us smile and they get us in the mood for this wonderful time of year. We’ve seen a drop in the use of humour in advertising over the past few decades, but now more than ever people want to be uplifted, and triggering that emotional reaction is so important to making campaigns memorable.”
Deason says Aldi deploys humour especially well in its content, with the ability to make consumers laugh now part of the brand’s identity.
“The brand is also expertly weaved through its content with characters like Kevin the Carrot. That’s something that Christmas campaigns can fall down on, with the attention-grabbing or emotional festive story lines taking over and leaving the brand behind,” Deason continues.
“Sainsbury’s and Tesco have gone for a much more brand-centric approach which will support the effectiveness of their campaigns. Branding in the John Lewis ad takes more of a back seat, but the PR buzz and consumer anticipation around its launch should help to an extent.”
