Every Christmas there’s always the excitement of wondering what each companies Christmas advert is going to be and every year there’s usually a large difference of opinion.
This year is no different, two main adverts stand out for me as being largely in the public eye.
Firstly there is the usual John Lewis advert, this year it’s all focused around Elton John. If you haven’t seen it let me explain. The advert takes you on a journey through Elton’s life, from him being a young boy and receiving the gift of a piano at Christmas from his grandparents. If you watch it for the first time you may wonder what this has to do with anything and what point are they trying to make but the message is loud and clear.
Is this a good advert? Is this a good portrayal of Elton John? It’s certainly heartwarming and there have already been some fun responses to it, including Lidl’s cheaper version of a piano.
Then there’s the response of the fast forwarding of the advert by Waitrose, although Waitrose and John Lewis are partners. What a great marketing ploy, put the two companies together, get a bit of banter going and cause a stir with the general public. This makes customers remember you, it makes these companies stand out so why not?
Exactly the same can be said for the Iceland / Greenpeace advert. This covers the destruction of orangutan habitats due to the farming of palm oil. It’s all about a girl and her best friend. This one was banned when Greenpeace tried to release it last year due to the political nature of it. That didn’t bother Iceland, they decided to rerelease it, probably knowing this would also be banned. However they didn’t just leave it there, they then chose to release it over social media and make the world aware of the banning of their advert. Is this silly or an incredible marketing choice? It’s definitely making people talk, it’s ensuring Iceland gets across their view on palm oil and their plan to be palm oil free (which is becoming massive to people nowadays) and people love the advert.
What’s your opinion?
I'm a marketing specialist, I've worked with UK and International companies researching and training in marketing to enable me to have a wider knowledge of how marketing can work in different types…
