Christmas adverts have become one of the UK's defining festive traditions, thanks to brands like John Lewis and Coca Cola. But what makes a good Christmas ad?
Christmas adverts have become a mainstay of the festive season. In fact, for many, they herald the start of Christmas.
They’re looked forward to with keen anticipation. And they’re discussed in the broadsheets, tabloids, and glossy magazines with almost equal interest. They’ve become a British tradition.
But why? What’s the secret behind the phenomenon? And why do their overtly heartstring-pulling tactics work so well on the usually cynical British public?
How have Christmas ads taken such a hold?
The reason why Christmas adverts have become such a feature of British Christmas is that they are so much more than just advertisements. Of course, their original—and fundamental—purpose is to sell. But they do more than that.
Whether a Christmas advert by a major player is a hit or miss is almost irrelevant, because it still brings people together. It becomes a talking point.
"Christmas adverts tie a feeling to a brand. This is extremely powerful"
It might make you laugh, like the infamous Irn Bru Snowman take off, or raise goosebumps and bring a lump to the throat, like John Lewis’ iconic The Bear and the Hare.
These ads create a sense of united community because everyone will have seen them. Everyone wants to discuss them. That’s really the clever part of the process.
In trying to position themselves away from selling products, and instead selling a spirit, they are tying a feeling to a brand. This is extremely powerful.
How do adverts sell the spirit of Christmas?
Courtesy of John Lewis and Waitrose. A successful Christmas advert taps into popular holiday themes, like family and friendship
A successful Christmas advert has the power to uplift the nation, and it does this by drawing on what is important and what matters in life. Family, love, friendship, loyalty, optimism, and innocence.
From there, a narrative arc is created. Usually, one that taps into the underlying meaning of Christmas, which may be related to family, loneliness, celebration, or indulgence. The heartstring tuggers usually carry a moral at the end.
"In the 1990s, with the first whisper of Coke’s Christmas trucks you really knew that the 'holidays were coming'"
Often this is a personal takeaway that might make a difference to the audience's life—choose the right gift and it could transform a child’s (or, possibly most memorably, a dog’s) existence.
For humour-driven ads, there needs to be an unexpected twist. Either way, these ads have the power to create a cultural moment.
If you were around in the 1990s, with the first whisper of Coke’s Christmas trucks you really knew that the "holidays were coming". But how does that association translate into profits?
How do Christmas adverts persuade consumers to buy in?
While most Christmas adverts avoid direct selling, there is no question regarding their worth.
John Lewis’ Bear and Hare reportedly drove total store sales of £734 million in 2013. While Sainsbury’s’ 1914 campaign reported a profit of £24 for every £1 spent in December.
So, how do these adverts that are not directly promotional influence people buying gifts for friends or family members?
It's because they pull on emotions. Take this year’s leading Christmas ads for example…
What is the anatomy of a good Christmas advert?
Above any other feature, the most important element of a successful Christmas advert is to provide entertainment. It does this through a number of mechanisms.
I’ve already mentioned narrative here, but it’s a strong narrative that will make an advert that is memorable and fosters that integral potential for virality.
"It’s a strong narrative that will make an advert that is memorable"
Storylines need to be simple, but not predictable, and applicable to all types of audiences. And they need to drive thought and emotion, usually through likeable characters.
While jeopardy is often present—will Mog really ruin Christmas?—it has to be authentic, and capable of heightening an already emotional moment of the year.
Meanwhile the script needs to resonate in real life and mean something beyond selling a product—the true meaning of Christmas, the spirit of giving, the reality of loneliness at Christmastime and beyond.
Overall, this means working to create a genuine emotional impact.
What techniques do brands use to create an emotional impact in Christmas ads?
There are a number of main contrivances open for brands seeking to amp up the emotional impact of their ads.
- Tender music—Whether it’s Lily Allen interpreting Keane, or Chas & Dave, music evokes an emotional response. And if you mix in a well-known and iconic track, you can also benefit from a feeling of nostalgia.
- Casting and characterisation—It can be hard to get this right, but where the audience is drawn into a story through the eyes of an envious dog, a lonely grandfather, an innocent child, or even a snowman looking for the perfect present, empathy is triggered.
- Nostalgia—It sells. It can come from the story, the music, or the imagery. But nostalgia pulls on the emotions like almost nothing else.
- Strategic camerawork—Ever notice the proliferation of extreme close-ups in Christmas ads? The way emotion shines from people’s faces? And how the lights are reflected in shining eyes? This helps you to share their emotion.
Christmas ads work because they sell us something more than physical merchandise.
They sell us the Christmas that we all secretly want. The one that isn’t about the enormous expense and excessive consumerism, with an undertone of bickering and the stress of trying to make everything "just right".
Rather, it's the Christmas that television has taught us to hope for. And adverts do it quickly, simply and with incredibly clever messaging.
Tom Baker, video lead at RCCO and co-founder of WILD production company, is an award-winning video filmmaker and director. His passion lies in bringing stories to life through digital video and creating emotive, people-driven stories and films that connect brands to audiences
Read more: The twelve musical days of Christmas
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