Christmas these days is an all singing, all dancing, interactive experience, and this is even true of our ad breaks. Children pick their presents from the Toys R Us adverts, supermarkets compete for the cheapest tins of Quality Street, and people across the country begin their Christmas countdown from the first time they see the Coca Cola lorry.
Whilst these adverts evoke feelings of glad tidings and good will to all men, many companies have come under criticism for simply regurgitating last year’s Chrismassy commercials. Cosmetics giant Boots have decided to retain their ‘Here Come the Girls’ soundtrack for the third year teamed with a slightly less amusing visual. Whilst 2007 saw the females frantically getting ready as the office males waited around at the Christmas party, and last year they chose an office secret Santa theme, this year’s attempt is a poor replacement. A group of girls dashing around and screaming loudly is getting a little tedious, and personally it seems illogical of Boots to alienate half of the population.
Marks and Spencer have tried to pack everything from clothes to food into a minute long space, and the omission of a catchy song and a hunky man or two (Antonio Banderas in 2007 and Take That in 2008) makes their Christmas advert somewhat forgettable. Rival John Lewis on the other hand have chosen a classic theme; remember how Christmas used to feel. Both the concept and the children are adorable. The choice of an acoustic ‘Sweet Child or Mine’ rather than the traditional, and dare I say overplayed, Slade or Wizard also adds a touch of class.
Sky have also excelled themselves this year, playing on the calm and chaos of Christmas. Another wise song choice of ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ accompanies the family affair, and I doubt there is a family that can’t relate to the frenzied present opening and the copious amounts of food that is gorged on. They’ve definitely captured the spirit of Christmas.
Some Christmas adverts are particularly iconic. Irn Bru’s take on The Snowman is weird yet wonderful; ‘We’re walking in the air, I’m sipping on an Irn Bru’. The advert that sees the little boy use the Yellow Pages so he is tall enough to kiss the little girl under the mistletoe is another classic. It first appeared in 1997 and due to its popularity has reappeared every year since.
Finally, it would be impossible to discuss Christmas adverts and not mention the infamous red Coca Cola lorry. Gracing our festive screens for as far back as I can remember it is the true sign of Christmas. It is reported that Santa Claus did not traditionally wear red but his outfit was changed by the Coke bigwigs to coincide with their colour theme. Whether the sales of Coca Cola actually increase during the holiday season or not is debatable but I for one wouldn’t want to celebrate my Christmas without the advert.
