Christmas advert round up 2021
It’s December, which means it’s officially okay to start talking about Christmas- but the Christmas ads this year all came out last month, to ramp up excitement.
Research and data from the IPA suggests that this year, 52% of UK adults plan to make the most of Christmas this year if there aren’t any restrictions in place, and that socialising will be key- with 45% of people planning to see more of friends and family than they normally would, likely because we couldn’t last year.
And talking about ads & marketing campaigns specifically, a third of consumers (36%) want to see a festive tone in Christmas adverts, followed by ads that are upbeat and optimistic (24%), funny (21%) and nostalgic (17%).
With that in mind, today, we’ll be taking a look at some supermarkets and other stores Christmas ads for this year, and whether they fit into festive, funny, upbeat & optimistic and nostalgic.
There’s plenty to get our teeth stuck into, so without further ado:
Aldi: For its fruit and veg take on the classic novel A Christmas Carol, the advert stars a snowman-smashing banana, “Ebanana Scrooge”, and a visit from Kevin the ghostly carrot, helps them learn that Christmas is a time for “peas and goodwill” with a little help from footballer Marcus Rashford (Marcus Radish-ford, in the ad).
Not only does Aldi pledge to donate 1.8 million meals to families over the Christmas period, the ad includes so many festive vegetable puns to enjoy. They’ve balanced the right amount of festive, funny, optimistic with pledging to help families in need, and the nostalgia seeps in from the well loved Kevin, and the new take on the classic.
JD Sports: This Christmas advert is solely geared at the “youth of today” with a London-city-based advert featuring UK’s coolest young celebrities. Maya Jama, Aitch, Little Simz, Jadon Sancho, KSI and more star in the advert, which features less Christmas magic, and the more relatable last-minute shopping and slippery slushy ice on city streets. It’s very cool, and it serves as a reminder to all the teens tasked with picking up the turkey this year: try not to leave it until the shops close.
Waitrose: They took a different turn this year, boldly declaring that the best part of Christmas is the food. No arguments. In the ad, actor Ashley Jensen represents the inner voice of those among us whose Christmas revolve around the delectable food- the boldness of the ad certainly captures attention, and really, who can disagree?
Lush : Lush has given a primetime spot to one of it’s most successful Christmas products – its Snow Fairy range, and the Snow Fairy makes her on-screen debut in the brand’s first short animation advert. The retailer collaborated with creative studio FeralChild, which crafted the animation with a team of talented artists. Its whimsical and puts the magical scent of Snow Fairy into visual very well, perfect for Christmas.
Tesco: In ‘nothing is stopping us’, Santa Claus is at risk of being quarantined but, wait! he’s been double vaccinated and has a pass. It’s a sentence that would not have made sense a few years ago, but the upbeat ad cleverly touches on current “unprecedented times” while being extremely optimistic, also it’s set to Queen’s ultimate bop “Don’t Stop Me Now” which just ads to the upbeat tone.
Debenhams: Boohoo unveiled the first Debenhams.com Christmas advert since taking over the retailer. The film, told by eight-year old Scarlett Rock and her father from Staffordshire, focuses on the “importance of togetherness”- hitting the nail on the head with the mood. Starting by reminiscing on the last year and special moments families and friends missed out on, the as reminds its audience that unlike 2020, this year people have the chance to make “magical memories” with loved ones.