Holiday Ad Roundup
It’s that time of year again! Yes, it’s time for snowy imagery of trees, gift-giving, horses pulling sleighs (though you won’t see much of that in ads this year—see below), candle lighting, and so much more. It’s also time to look at what advertisers are doing to cut through the clutter to end the year on a positive note.
But this isn’t any normal holiday season. Every year, the marketing channels get noisier and noisier. Creativity is just one way to rise above the noise. But, what we’re seeing is that marketers are taking a number of different tactics to get there.
Case in point, check out this long-form story told by Sainsbury’s (a British department store):
Clocking in at more than three minutes and 14 million views, this ad tells a beautiful tale of coming together for the holiday, despite differences. It’s an incredibly indirect sell, meant to warm your cockles and feel good about sharing even small gifts with people in your lives (even your enemies).
Then there’s this clever “not a holiday ad” holiday ad from Kmart:
Not only was it clever, but Kmart then took a page from the Old Spice playbook and offered up some real-time responses to viewers:
While the original ad has pulled in nearly five million views on YouTube so far, the responses seem to have received a much more lack-luster response, only garnering two to three thousand views each.
And, as we mentioned, you won’t see the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales this year. Instead, you’ll see an unusual but somewhat heartwarming set of ads called Round Up Your Buds, shot with real people (according to Budweiser):
As marketers, we truly revel in the ads coming out this time of year (and those leading into Super Bowl—but that’s another post).
From all of us at Capital Media, we hope you enjoy your holiday season by squeezing in some quality time with loved ones.