I don’t know what you got up to this weekend, but mah bestie Lynne and I bawled our way through one seasonal TV ad after the next.
Well … I bawled and Lynne sniffled, but you get the point.
It’s an annual masochistic ritual that cleanses the soul and gives the tear ducts a jolly good workout – watching cunningly crafted mini-stories where one person does another a good turn and the music swells, etc. Children, seniors and animals usually feature prominently, as they are high on the ‘garnering sympathy’ list.
I’ve seen some great commercials come out of the US over the years, but arguably the only time when viewers are really invested in watching them (and companies really put in the effort) is around the Super Bowl. I am one of those who has absolutely no interest in the game. Third and down? Whassat? I want to see what someone has dreamed up to hawk Doritos, Chevys and – of course – Budweiser. It’s gonna take more than a few Clydesdales and adorable donkey or doggie to turn me on to beer, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the effort all the same.
That being said, the British are hard to beat when it comes to the advertising game. When I was going to university in London and going to the cinema, rather than studying, I would try to get there early just to see the latest ads for the likes of Hamlet Cigars, Cadbury’s and Foster’s Lager. They were so witty and creative – sometimes even more entertaining than the film that followed.
I appreciate that many of you won’t know to what I’m referring when I mention the Nescafé ‘Gold Blend’ series, but the coffee company launched an ambitious TV ad campaign that ran a romantic story arc over 12 ads, released in intervals from 1987-1993. Actors Anthony Head and Sharon Maughan starred as the couple, with each 45-second slot ending in a ‘will they, won’t they?’ cliffhanger. The series became so popular that a release date and time was announced for the final instalment, and approximately 30 million people tuned in to watch. Absolutely crackers.
Nowadays, thanks to the magic of the Internet, we can watch all of these things whenever we wish. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve rewatched the kid as Darth Vader in the Volkswagen ad more times than I can count, not to mention the EDS ad about cat herders (I swear, if you haven’t seen it, drop what you’re doing and YouTube now!). But, where I really crack my knuckles and prepare to do a deep dive, is when Christmas comes around.
Publix is pretty good at getting the waterworks going. Have you seen their ad from 2015 (‘The Surprise’), when a young boy leaves a note on an elderly neighbour’s doorstep and invites her to Christmas dinner with his family? Get the tissues out.
One of the most hotly anticipated seasonal releases in the UK is the John Lewis ad. What will they come up with this time? Over the years, they’ve featured everything from a Venus flytrap to a boxer on a trampoline, a bear and a hare, and even the man on the moon. They tend to lean more towards tugging on the heartstrings, so tissue time again. And how about the DocMorris one where a grandfather is working out with weights every day. You can’t figure out where they’re going with this … until you see that he’s trying to get strong enough to lift up his granddaughter when he sees her. See that Grinch over there, snorting into a handkerchief?
Another favourite of mine, which brings joyful tears every time I watch it, is by Bouygues Telecom out of France – ‘Bouygues Christmas 2018’. It is so wonderful. I won’t spoil it for you – I’ll just say that you’ve got the right one if you hear ‘Come and Get Your Love’ by Redbone.
(By the way, because I’m a professional journalist, ahem, I’m watching each of these as I go to make sure I have the information correct, and my keyboard is getting rained upon.)
Of course, not all commercials have to have you reaching for the Kleenex. Some go the comedic or uplifting route. ‘The Big Night’ from Sainsbury’s in 2018 has a kid in a school Christmas show who starts off shy but ends very strong. And just as a side note, that institution must spend its entire annual scholastic budget on the show. Looking at the costumes and production levels, it could put a musical in the West End to shame.
The Chevy ads with the salesman who looks EXACTLY like Santa Claus are a hoot, and I cannot get enough of Dawn French unable to face a bunch of strangers coming to her house for a celebration … until Marks & Spencer (M&S) saves the day.
Another one we watch each year, without fail, is the fantastic IKEA commercial from 2019: ‘Silence The Critics’. With no less than D Double E British grime MC providing the voice for sentient kitschy items around their home, it is completely unique and so funny. Hint: We love the panda.
Now, after reading this, you may understandably question what kind of lives we’ve got, where we’re watching back-to-back Christmas ads. But the fact is that a well-conceived and produced ad is an art form in its own right. And when major companies are announcing in advance when their much anticipated ad will be airing, I guess that means we’re not the only ones.
Simply stated, if I can watch something that makes me laugh or cry (in a good way) and feel a bit of warmth and cheer – hey, I’m all in. The news has become so unbelievably depressing, that I think we need to indulge in anything that lifts our spirits and cheers our soul.
Politicians vs. ‘The Polar Express’? I choose Santa.
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