With Christmas just over a month away, you have probably seen the Christmas adverts being released, from John Lewis to Mulberry, Christmas adverts have become somewhat of a British cultural movement, the adverts that are the most popular being shared online and being tweeted about thousands of times on social media. John Lewis received 477,285 shares for their #ManOnTheMoon, Burberry 114,299 and M&S, receiving the lowest shares so far from all of the big brands adverts at 4,029 shares at the time I'm writing this. The adverts are clearly a huge booster for sales within stores, get it right, as John Lewis did last year with Monty the Penguin, and your Christmas time sales can increase hugely- from November-December 2014, they spent £6.9 million on advertising, and gained a 4.8% rise in like-for-like sales during the Christmas period. It is therefore obvious from this data then, why the big companies want to produce successful adverts to ensure ROI. I'd like to share a few of my favourite adverts/ the most shared in the UK- so far -with you!
Harvey Nichols- we've all been there, Christmas Day, being outrageously excited about the new pair of socks we've received, completely life changing, thanks mum. The advert brings a light hearted humour instead of the emotional turmoil we all go through watching the annual John Lewis advert. The advert also means the company can use the hashtag during the advert ('GiftFace') throughout all their holiday advertising to convince relatives that your loved one would prefer things from their store than anywhere else to avoid being given the disappointing 'Gift Face,' which they have handily defined for us in their Twitter bio.
The John Lewis '#ManOnTheMoon' campaign was, as always, a hugely anticipated affair as the advert itself from the company has become a staple of Christmas time in the UK. The advert centres around a young girl, Lily, and a man who lives on the moon, who sits on a bench, alone. Lily spots the man on the moon through her telescope, and wants to wish him a Merry Christmas, and so sends a present up of a telescope, tied to a bunch of balloons which he receives with great joy, before finding Lily through his own telescope. The advert is in partnership with Age UK, to raise awareness of the importance of being together with loved ones at Christmas, as Christmas can be a time of huge loneliness for the elderly- the ad really pulls on the heartstrings in this respect, as we anticipate every year from John Lewis.There has been some backlash from those claiming that during an age where there is intense commercialism, the advert is promoting buying presents from their store over the advert showing a family around a table during a Christmas feast for example- at the end of the advert the man on the moon is still alone on the moon despite receiving the child's gift. To go along with the advert, John Lewis are selling a range of products, including mugs, telescopes and pyjamas with images of the man and the moon, and to tie in nicely with the whole campaign, on Christmas day there will be a full moon which you can countdown to on their app.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuz2ILq4UeA
My favourite advert this year so far has to go to Mulberry, the #MulberryMiracle presents its own spin on the nativity scene- the red handbag the woman receives has been given the role of Baby Jesus as it has visitors of shepherds and three wise men, much to the suprise of the couple as people turn up to pay their respects for the womens new baby- her new fashion accessory. The hashtag means Mulberry will be promoting the campaign on their social media too, promoting longevity for the ad, and building engagement as their customers and fans Tweet using the hashtag. Here's hoping that anyone receiving a Mulberry this Christmas season won't also receive a few strange men turning up at their front door!
Aldi have also produced a great advert for their produce this year- using the items they're going to be selling this year to produce an advert using their own lyrics to the tune of 'My Favourite Things' from Sound of Music.
https://youtu.be/k6qx7U_SuQE