Who is the star this Christmas and who’s the turkey?

 The launch of the TV Christmas advertising campaigns has become a fiercely anticipated annual event, especially when it comes to the John Lewis advert; Will they produce another master piece? Will it be an emotional tearjerker? Will the song be the Christmas anthem of the year? Who will rival them in the creative stakes?

Hot on the back of their ‘We are Partners’ TV promotion, which included a scene from a school play acted out to Queen’s iconic anthem, Bohemian Rhapsody, and received a hugely positive response. This latest Christmas campaign, fronted by Elton John, had big boots to fill!

If I’m being honest, although it has all the finesse and quality you’d assume from an Adam&Eve/DDB creative, I do think the advert lacks a connection that you’ve become so accustomed to expect from John Lewis. The authenticity around the ‘We are Partners’ campaign seems to have been lost in place of a self-indulgent creation that could have easily being conveyed with a non-famous protagonist but still kept true to the meaning of the advert.  

The sentiment around the gift being more than gift is one that seems to have captured the minds of several creative teams this year, with Very launching an emotional, animated campaign with a little girl given an astronaut helmet and each year receives another gift that encourages her to pursue her dream as an astronaut.

What also seems to add to the underwhelming feel to the John Lewis campaign is the, although admittedly innovative, commercial partnership with ITV. The heavily promoted 9.15pm TV premier of the advert was prematurely aired at 9.12pm so by the time many had switched over they were seeing Elton finish his masterpiece rather than start it. The commercial campaign also teased the release with the theme tunes of a number of ITV iconic shows changed to a piano version including Emmerdale and Coronation street which didn’t receive the greatest response from viewers, confused over the change.  

The biggest success to come out of the John Lewis 2018 Christmas campaign I think personally, is the Lidl advert. Within hours of Elton being shown receiving his first piano, the Lidl marketing team launched a creative across social media of their Yamaha piano being sold for £89.99 and the strapline ‘It’s a Lidl bit funny’, along with the commentary ‘Just because you don’t have £872 to spend on a piano, doesn’t mean you can’t be the next Elton.’ Genius.

The other success this year is Iceland’s Christmas campaign that ironically hasn’t even aired on TV due to being banned for being too political. Voiced by the warming tones of Emma Thompson, the ‘Rang-tan’ story around deforestation and the over use of palm oil is an emotive campaign that’s captured the hearts and minds across the globe, with the advert going viral across social media.  

So, who else is doing what?

·         Aldi have continued the escapades of Kevin the Carrot, with the addition of the Wicked Parsnip which will no doubt lead to a sell out of the toy in stores across the country. 8.5/10

·         Marks and Spencer have used TV’s golden girl and their brand ambassador, Holly Willoughby as the famous face behind ‘Must Have’ gift campaign. 8/10

·         Asda have thrown everything but the kitchen sink into their ‘Bring Christmas Home’ creative (oh hang on I think there is a kitchen sink featured!) culminating in a feel-good advert with a top festive tune. 8/10

·         Sainsbury’s ‘The Big Night’ advert does have similarities to the John Lewis ‘We are Partners’ campaign, with a catchy tune (New Radical’s You Get What You Give) and a young child needing her class to help her have the confidence to perform in the school play, suggesting the Christmas event is a team effort.  7.5/10

·         Tesco have continued with their slightly alternative ‘However you do Christmas’ campaign with scenes from families disagreeing about various elements of the festive event. 7/10

·         And ‘Morrisons Makes It’ advert is a simple, no frills emphasis on their products and importance of family. 6.5/10

It does feel, apart from John Lewis and Iceland, the other retailers haven’t strayed too far from their comfort zone. Perhaps there’s a slight disillusion around the increasingly high expectation, big budget and extra emotional pull needed to create the ‘winning’ Christmas advert with little impact on the bottom line. With retailers facing their toughest timer ever and margins squeezed like never before, they’ve stuck true to their key brand propositions and simple messaging. And you can’t argue with that, even if the creative execution leaves you feel a bit short changed.

Let’s hope the tills result in a very merry Christmas for all!