The Xmas campaigns by the UK's major retail stores have this year raised complaints - not as usual, regarding the mawkish nature of their message or the blatant exploitation of the 'pester power' of children turned on ever-suffering parents but for their increasingly crassness in the blatant exploitation of the Christmas message.
At the end of it all, we must remind ourselves [as students of the media] that the basic intention of these adverts is to increase the footfall [and sales and profitability] in their stores and to secure their brand image with audiences. In this respect, John Lewis have become the leader in creating what has over the past five years become nothing less than a media event out of a simple message. For some, Xmas begins with the first sighting of the John Lewis advert.
At the end of it all, we must remind ourselves [as students of the media] that the basic intention of these adverts is to increase the footfall [and sales and profitability] in their stores and to secure their brand image with audiences. In this respect, John Lewis have become the leader in creating what has over the past five years become nothing less than a media event out of a simple message. For some, Xmas begins with the first sighting of the John Lewis advert.
There may be nothing new in this - we are aware that the conventional image of Santa owes as much to the American painter Haddon Sundblom who created a series of striking poster art images for Coca-cola during the 1930s that have come to define our image of Santa.
Follow the link below to a brief youtube biography of the artist
Haddon Sundblom
This year [November 2014], with less than seven weeks to go to the big day, most of the UK’s consumer giants have
already launched their Xmas advertising campaigns that will dominate commercial TV slots with elaborate feel-good adverts.
Marks & Spencer dropped their previous formula of using celebrities, opting for replacing them pair of magic fairies. Waitrose' advert features a
shy girl baking gingerbread whilst Boots focuses on a more everyday idea of an exhausted nurse coming home after finishing
her Christmas shift.
The John Lewis advert is a young child and his toys - a popular take for them based on previous ideas of snowmen and toys and fairy tale woodland animals. The Sainsbury advert has evoked a mixed reaction.
The Sainsbury's tribute advert follows the exhibition of thousands of
ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London to commemorate 100 years
since the start of the Great War, which has drawn millions of visitors.
The Royal British Legion,
said: 'One hundred years on from the 1914 Christmas truce, the campaign
remembers the fallen, while helping to raise vital funds to support the future
of living.'
The Head of Brand Communications at Sainsbury's, said: 'This
year, we wanted to reflect that theme of sharing in our Christmas campaign
through the lens of one of the most extraordinary moments of sharing in modern
history. “The Christmas truce is an especially poignant story from the First World
War that has been recreated on a number of occasions and we know it resonates
with many of our customers and colleagues. We’ve partnered with The Royal
British Legion to ensure we tell this story with authenticity and respect and we
hope it will help keep alive the memory of the fallen that made the ultimate
sacrifice on behalf of their country.'
Below, we take a look at a number of the higher profile adverts [Waitrose; Debenhams; Boots; John Lewis; Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's]
[1] How does each advert attempt to evoke the spirit of Xmas?
[2] How is this assigned to each retailer - how do they attempt to anchor the brand to the idea, the message about the brand.
[3] Which is the most successful - why?
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