Jigsaw
Perhaps the quirkiest entry this year Jigsaw has maintained its overarching surrealism theme for its Christmas campaign.
The stop motion animation made in conjunction with National Film and Television School (NFTS), follows the story of two young neighbours who give each other gifts every Christmas.
“In the context of a unique environment we felt like we needed to give our customers something unexpected and fun,” head of marketing Alex Kelly.
“The surreal aspect of the graphic treatment is inspired by the unique illustrations created by Rococo chocolates for their packaging. We have collaborated with them to produce some exclusive and unexpected gift ideas.”
Mulberry
Mulberry has provided the second sing-a-long Christmas advert this year, this time with a modern take on “12 Days of Christmas”.
Each day represents an item of Mulberry’s latest range, accompanied by a the classic carol performed by “The Big Moon”.
“Mulberry is about embracing heritage and tradition, and then flipping it in an unexpected way,” creative director Johnny Coca said.
“This time of year should be filled with love and laughter. We wanted to make people smile and leave them wanting to celebrate a very Mulberry Christmas.”
Barbour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=vkIjXeYBit0
Barbour has stuck to its tie in with The Snowman using characters from Raymond Briggs’ Christmas staple.
Billy has grown up since his original appearance in the animation back in 1982, as has his dog who featured in the recent sequel The Snowman and The Snowdog.
After hearing the doorbell ring on Christmas day with his family, Billy is greeted by the Snowman at his door, before his daughter presents him with a Barbour jacket as a gift.
Aldi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJGpOYKXcSE
Aldi’s offering sees 2016’s Kevin the Carrot return in a scene full of movie references, including Titanic, The Bodyguard and the newly-released Murder on the Orient Express.
Narrated by Jim Broadbent, the advert sees Kevin navigate a treacherous train buffet car to reach the love of his life Katie the Carrot.
“We just had to bring (Kevin) back again this year to help showcase our latest show-stopping festive range,” marketing director Adam Zavalis said.
“Let’s hope Katie the Carrot loves Kevin as much as we all do.”
Argos
Argos was the first major UK retailer to release its Christmas campaign, featuring a high-tech Santa’s workshop.
Showcasing the range of toys available this season, including Hatchimals Egg Surprise and Star Wars’ BB8, the advert sees an elf race to include a dropped toy in a delivery made by a jet powered sleigh.
This seeks to highlight the retailer’s four-hour delivery service this Christmas period, including Christmas Eve where Fast Track orders placed before 1pm will be delivered by 6pm.
Asda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd9wKCy1pAE
In another movie-influenced advert, Asda takes us to the Imaginarium, a Willy Wonka-inspired factory displaying Asda’s range of Christmas food.
A girl and her grandad sneak into the curious factory which includes a Gin Room, Gin Laser and giant Christmas pudding machine powered by a reindeer.
“By combining CGI animation and some spectacular real life venues, the Imaginarium is depicted as a maze of rooms containing magical machines and enchanting experiments,” Asda’s Eilidh Macaskill said.
“The ad is a love letter to our customers and products.”
Marks & Spencer
Featuring Paddington Bear and coinciding with the release of the sequel Paddington Bear 2, M&S’s advert sees the animated hero inadvertently save Christmas.
After catching a Christmas burglar donned in a red coat and stocking on his roof, Ben Wishaw’s Paddington mistakes him for a struggling Santa and helps him deliver all the presents in his sack.
Lidl
Lidl has stuck to its strengths this year and delivered a range of adverts focusing on its price points.
The grocer launched three trailers each featuring a clichéd Christmas character: Mince Pie Maverick, Cavalier Carver and Double Dipper.
“Our campaign ‘Every Lidl Thing for Christmas’ has been developed to showcase the fantastic breadth of food and drink we have for the UK customer at Lidl,” Lidl UK’s Claire Farrant said.
Tesco
Tesco’s advert has been split into five-minute-long TV adverts, each focusing on different families cooking their Christmas turkeys.
“As part of our campaign this year, we’re delighted to work with our long-term charity partners FareShare and The Trussell Trust to donate £1 for every fresh turkey purchased to help feed people in need this Christmas – it’s another little help for our local communities at an important time of year,” chief customer officer Alessandra Bellini said.
House of Fraser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PvPqn4dSYc
The department store’s Christmas campaign dubbed Bring Merry Back plays out the story of two sisters and their Christmas traditions from childhood to adulthood.
Set to the Staple Singers’ uplifting track Who Took the Merry out of Christmas, the advert aims to “rekindle that childhood nostalgia and help our customers end the year on a high, with a good old-fashioned Christmas”.
Toys ‘R’ Us
The toy retailer’s campaign sees a Toys ‘R’ Us store owner, Geoffrey the Giraffe, stand in as a part time reindeer.
When Santa arrives at the store, he finds his reindeers too distracted with the toys in store to make deliveries, so Geoffrey stands in to deliver parcels with the help of his long neck.
“Animated graphics are highly advanced, and we felt Geoffrey deserved to reach the hearts and minds of a brand-new generation in a new, modern format,” marketing director Mike Coogan said.
Curry’s PC World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuywnLaaFjI
The technology retailer’s Merry Techmas advert takes a look at how their staff members test devices they sell first hand, helping shoppers pick the right presents.
Two parents are seen teasing their children with suggestions of “long conversations” and “singing carols” before revealing a LG OLED 4k ready HD TV borrowed from the retailer.
Very
Pureplay online retailer Very adds another animated story to the Christmas collection with its Get More Out of Giving campaign.
The protagonist Anna is seen struggling through winter tundras to deliver a present to everyone on her list, including Santa.
“As a pureplay online retailer, we have no high street presence so resonating emotionally with our audience during the Christmas period is vitally important,” marketing director Kenyatte Nelson said.
“This year, Very’s Christmas campaign focuses on the joy of giving. It’s this emotion and unique feeling that we shine a spotlight on through our campaign.”
Morrisons
The grocer has released two 41-second TV adverts both focusing on the Morrisons staff who “make Christmas for so many families as they all prepare for the festive season”.
The first features a mother who tells her son she asked for “loads” this Christmas, and was able to find it all at Morrisons.
The second, more emotional advert sees a brother encouraging his timid sister through various events, culminating in her digging into a “Free From” cake.
“We’re sharing how our bakers hand-prepare mince pies, our cake shop specialists finish a gateau or how our butchers serve turkeys so customers can see the care we put into our fresh food,” the grocer said.
Debenhams
Debenhams has produced a 90 second love story bringing a modern take on the classic Cinderella story.
You Shall’s story is narrated by Ewan McGregor and tells the tale of Ellie and Josh’s modern romance, involving a lost shoe and lots of social media.
All the items seen worn by the pair are available to shop at Debenhams.
John Lewis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw1Y-zhQURU
This year’s hotly-anticipated John Lewis Christmas advert features Moz the Monster, and marks a return to tearjerkers for the retailer.
Directed by Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry, who previously worked on Levi’s Drugstore advert and has produced videos for the Rolling Stones and Bjork, the Christmas fixture is already trending on Twitter under #MozTheMonster and #UnderTheBed.
It features seven-year old Joe who discovers the loveable Moz the Monster under his bed, a fluffy, large-nosed creature who soon becomes best friends with child.
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s released their Christmas advert over the weekend, opting to extend its “Living Well” campaign instead of creating a Christmas special as it had done the previous two years.
It features a host of real people including staff members, alongside cameos from celebrities Ricky Tomlinson and Kermit the Frog, singing a song written by Doc Brown especially for the advert.
The Every Bit of Christmas song will be available to listen to as a karaoke version on Spotify and on YouTube letting families sing along just like in the advert.
TK Maxx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdD14rw1hr0&feature=youtu.be
Discount retailer TK Maxx has released one of the most outlandish campaigns this year aiming to “to do something much more exciting than just the traditional Christmas TV ad”.
Its “White Christmas” advert promises to deliver real snow for free to any customers who find exclusive snow globes hidden throughout TK Maxx stores.
“We wanted to create a real, magical experience for our shoppers, one that’s great fun and in which everyone has a chance to participate,” marketing director Deborah Dolce said.
“A snowy version of a golden ticket! We know that lots of people dream of a White Christmas and it’s a special and very fun way to bring friends and family together.”
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