Analysis of 3 Christmas Adverts - Advertising Production

Analysis of 3 Christmas Adverts (Advert research)

 Sainsbury's Christmas Advert (2014)

 

As 2014 marked the 100 years since the beginning of World War 1, Sainsbury's decided to have their Christmas ad coincide with the anniversary, appealing to a mass British audience currently in the process of celebrating the achievement and mourning the sacrifice of service men both past and present.

You wouldn't pin Sainsbury's as the type of brand to invest heavily into Christmas advertising but every year they seem to try something new. Sainsbury's 2017's Christmas ad involved Kermit the Frog and the previous year's included a stop motion musical - quite the far cry away from their 2014 advert.

The particular event Sainsbury's used to mark the anniversary in their advert was indeed intelligent and well thought through, they recreated the "Christmas Truce", a widespread, unofficial series of ceasefires across the Western Front in World War 1 around Christmas 1914.  In the week leading up to the 25th, French, German, and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk. In some areas, men from both sides ventured into no man's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps, while several meetings ended in carol-singing. Men played games of football with one another, giving one of the most memorable images of the truce.

The advert begins with a sombre tone at the dead of night as men from both British and German men from both sides of the trenches hunker down for what will inevitably be a harshly cold and unforgiving night in No Man's Land. We see a young boy, a soldier, opening a package from home from, inside the box is the photo of a young woman and a bar of chocolate. All of a sudden we're introduced to the slow, synced harmony of German soldiers singing 'O Holy Night'. Slowly but surely, the British soldiers on the other side of No Man's Land being joining in - both in their own language but still in harmony with one another. The scene then transitions to the stark, wintery morning after, we see the soldiers sat in the trenches with their bodies exhausted and their minds drained. The advert cuts between two people, one members of either army (it becomes clear these are the intended people in which we, the audience, are to experience the truce through), until eventually the British soldier begins to climb the ladder out of the trench, completely unarmed with his arms raised - immediately the German's spot him, arm themselves with rifles and target the young man, but before a shot can be fired our other protagonist realises that the Brit is unarmed, calling for a hold of fire. The young German soldier himself then climbs out of the trench via a ladder with his arms raised, completely stripped of weapons - the British immediately return the same response and lock targets on the German side of the field.

Both men slowly walk towards each other whilst the advert ramps up the tension between both trenches, waiting for one to open fair on the other. The two men in the middle eventually meet and the camera pans out to reveal both trenches have also made their way out, unarmed. The two men exchange greetings and names, and from that point onwards we have Jim (British) and Otto (German), the advert then quickly changes tone as the men all share a game of football, take photos together, receive haircuts and shaves from men on the other side and share souvenirs and gifts, at one point Jim is showing Otto a photo of what seems to be his girlfriend (Jim's young age has me unconvinced the are married), he tells Otto her name is Rose to which Otto replies she is "schön" (German for beautiful) before gesturing with his hand and face.

In the distance we hear the sound of shell fire, indicating the end of the truce between the men as dictated by their superiors, the fire drowns out the cheers and laughter from the men as reality bares down on them quickly. A look of sadness followed by acceptance shows of the faces of all the men and their commanding officers, there'[s nothing that can be done except to cherish and remember the final moments these men had together before they're sent to their death, either by the hand of the opposing army or by the cold, bitter winter
.

As the men all say goodbye to one another and exchange items, we see Jim and Otto come together once again, Jim offers out a handshake to which Otto enthusiastically partakes in. "Happy Christmas" says Jim as he hands Otto his jacket, Otto thanks Jim before returning his wishes in his German, the men smile at each other before making their way back to dreary, frosty trenches of which their seems no escape.

The men are visibly sad to find themselves enemies once more, as Otto wades through  the mud filled trench he is to call home for the foreseeable future, he places his hands in pockets to heat them up, he begins to ruffle around in his left pocket before he pulls out a large bar of chocolate, indeed he same chocolate bar Jim received from Rose. The message of this film is simple - no matter who you are, kindness is a universal form of communication.

This advert showcases "the exemplary story" (Donald Gunn's 12 types of advertising) - except this advertisement doesn't showcase a product, but does supply the audience with a story that can connect them to the narrative on-screen, creating an emotional connection to the brand of Sainsbury's itself, rather than a specific product.

This is one of my favourite Christmas advertisements, because it doesn't try to sell you an aspirational lifestyle or particular products, instead it spreads a thoughtful message to reside within people's thoughts during a time when kindness is needed most.


The kind of audience that Sainsbury's is targeting here is very broad. We're talking about national pride here, something that most people can get behind in the blink of an eye. It's very clever marketing and quite strange in the fact that a supermarket, at Christmas time, makes no use of it's products in it's advertisements, on paper this advertisement shouldn't work, but in reality it works excellently.

Moz the Monster (John Lewis - 2017)




John Lewis adverts have become an annual tradition for the consumers of Britain, the release of the advert symbolises the beginning of the festive period, the start of Christmas shopping, and the arrival of seasonal trends for marketers across the world.

The two-minute story begins with seven-year-old Joe dozing off in his bed at night time, his book falling to the floor, only to be woken up by the snoring of Moz, a 7ft monster with puppy dog eyes. Initially he is not impressed, putting a ‘no monsters allowed’ sign on his door and resorting to ear muffs to block out the sound.

But the monster's farts endear him to Joe and over time the pair strike up a friendship.

They bond over on a mutual love of late-night Scalextric and piggyback games.

But staying awake starts to affect the boy, who falls asleep while getting haircut and playing in goal for his football team.

Moz realises the late nights of playing are taking their toll on his new pal and, as he carries him to bed one night, he knows he must allow him some peace and quiet.

Joe then wakes up on Christmas morning to find a clumsily wrapped present under the tree, which turns out to be a night light.

That night he switches the light on, and the ad ends with him falling asleep to the comforting rumblings of his friend under the bed.

The John Lewis advert is directed by Oscar-winning Michel Gondry, whose past work includes the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and music videos for the likes of The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers and Bjork.

A director of this calibre mixed in with John Lewis should equal a brilliant Christmas advert yes? Interestingly, the reception to this year’s advert was largely negative, with audiences confused by the ending, and comparing it poorly to previous years. Some viewers felt that the heart-warming element was lost in the jolly narrative, others felt that it lacked festivity, and some simply didn’t understand the finale scene, in which Moz gives Joe a starry night lamp and lets him sleep for Christmas.

The audience demographic was definitely a mix of age ranges, from young to old, this tale is supposed to be inclusive for all - I imagine kids would respond very well but then again, you aren't selling products to children, you're selling it to the parents. It's a good job then that John Lewis' sales have been as high as they've ever been even after this advert which brings me to my next point.

John Lewis has secured itself as a staple of British culture at Christmas, people are buying into the ideal family lifestyle that John Lewis sells so very well to it's consumers, the adverts seem to merely be a reinforcement by John Lewis to remind other retailers who is running the literal shop.

Another successful element of the John Lewis festive marketing campaign is their use of intelligent trend analysis for the Christmas period. Yearly, they play on themes of love, friendship, generosity and family, using surprising storytelling twists in soft, cosy settings to make heart-warming narratives seem feasible in an advertising setting – and this year is no different. Whilst three of the biggest festive advertising campaigns – Aldi, Vodafone and Debenhams – have featured romance heavily in their adverts, John Lewis elected to use the bond of friendship as its central narrative. Much like their previous story of Monty the Penguin, Moz the Monster showcases the relationship of young children and their imaginary friends, expressing the deep understanding and respect between the two characters – where Sam empathises with Monty’s loneliness, Moz understands Joe’s exhaustion, and both use Christmas gifts to help fix the problem.
The theme of sleep, bedtimes and the excitement of Christmas eve also plays heavily in the John Lewis marketing trends, with many of the adverts featuring night-time journeys, sleeping bears and starry skies.


Analysing these festive marketing trends is a vital part of the John Lewis ad campaign, and will help to boost their eventual sales figures by playing on the consumer need for them. Parents are now able to kit their children out with the full Moz sleepwear range, tuck them up in bed with their cuddly Moz toy, and read them the story of Moz the Monster on Christmas eve, before the big day, without hearing frightened cries about ‘the monster under my bed!’. This is intelligent marketing done well.
As the advert was released, John Lewis also introduced their child-friendly ‘build your own bear’ game, called the Monster Maker, where users can design their own Moz monster. With customisable features, and even a personalised fart generator, it’s a quick and simple game to keep the fun of Moz on going, and to help children make the monster under their bed feel that bit less scary.


It’s easy to suggest that, at this stage, the John Lewis advert doesn’t need to be good, or clever, or well received, to do well. With clever trend analysis, curious audiences, and a big budget to play with, John Lewis’ advertising campaigns may continue for years to come – even if the end result disappoints.

Coca Cola - Holidays Are Coming (1995 - )

Coca-Cola has taken full advantage of the western world's fascination with Christmas. So much so that the image of Santa Claus was actually coined by Coca-Cola. Many people don't even feel like it's Christmas until they see the iconic Coca-Cola advert with the delivery lorries travelling through snow filled streets. 

Accompanying this image is Coca-Colas own Christmas theme tune that features the vocals of a choir. The choir repeats the line “Holidays are coming.” This is deliberate as saying “Christmas is coming” would alienate the Coca-Cola consumers who do not celebrate Christmas. The repetition of this phrase is consistent throughout the advert. It is therefore very difficult not to be aware that the holidays are in fact “coming” when we’re being told it over and over for an entire minute. .

The sounds of this TV advertisement are very effectively designed to harness the emotion of Christmas, specifically through the perspective of a child. In amongst the music there are various glissandos of high frequencies to emphasis the visuals, for example, Christmas tree lights switching on. These glissandos have connotations of magic, as they are commonly used to portray the act of vanishing or appearing.

The combination of all of these elements creates a very effective piece of music for a Christmas themed advert

Voted Britain's favourite Christmas advert of all time back in 2014, it dates back to 1995 after advertising agency W.B. Doner was asked to add a "touch of sparkle" to the Coca-Cola Christmas campaign.

 

Known initially as the 'Christmas Caravans' the trucks were covered in over 30,000 bulbs and special effects created by the company behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films.
Until the emergence of the trucks Santa had historically been portrayed in a variety of ways, from tall and gaunt to short and elfin, but the use of vintage imagery from Swedish-American artist Haddon Sundblom reportedly changed perceptions all over the globe.
Sundblom paintings for Coca-Cola allegedly established Santa in the mind of the public as a chubby, warm, grandfather-like character, giving him with rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes and laughter lines.
In recent years, Coca-Cola have reimagined the classic advert and sent its famous trucks around the country to spread festive cheer, solidifying its position as the quintessential Christmas ad.


Like the John Lewis ad, this is another example of a brand cementing it's place amongst Christmas culture, even up against Greenpeace's controversial mockery of Coca-Cola's famous ad and rising concerns with health, it still manages to retain not only it's place as the world's most popular soft drink company - it also holds the rains on the Christmas market, one of the most fruitful holidays for a company to own a monopoly on.