We know, we know – everyone’s got an opinion on their fave Christmas ad of the year and depending on which ad your agency did or where your mate works may swing things a little, but here at Scout we wanted to add to the Christmas festivities and give you our opinion.
We looked at the retail brands who are spending big this year including the following: Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Debenhams, Waitrose, Lidl and Sainsburys. Definitely a princely sum spent on production and media for all of these but after all that blood, sweat and tears getting the idea approved in the first place, ensuring all the celebs could make the shoot days and arguments about how big the logo should be on the end frame, did they actually capture our imagination or did we grasp what they were trying to say?
Marks and Spencer – Follow the fairies.
Mixed opinions in the office on this one. Mainly the ladies thought it was charming and summed up the ‘spirit of Christmas’ (and possibly a few wanted to actually be a fairy themselves and fly around doing good deeds) and the boys, although thinking the fairies were ‘hot’ though it was all a bit fake and wishy washy.
John Lewis – Monty the Penguin.
Sadly, slightly disappointed and cynical. Disappointed that they had pretty much copied the most amazing ad of all time (Christmas 2 years ago – well done the lovely Matt and John!) but not really hit the mark in the same way. abuse contacts And cynical in the fact that even before we knew what was in the shops, they were going to start selling Monty the penguin merchandise and make a killing from it.
Debenhams – Found it.
Cute and the idea of bringing to life on a bigger scale the wonderful world of a child’s mind just wanting to find their presents at Christmas is different to the standard, was it an absolute knock out? We don’t think so.
Waitrose – The gingerbread stall.
Sweet casting, but really the same emotion that was trying to be hit by John Lewis (maybe not surprising given they are owned by John Lewis). The bit at the end was a bit cheesy as well.
Lidl – Little present.
Although a few of us were a tad cynical about how genuine some of the ‘surprised responses’ were, most of us are complete target audience for this and after seeing the ad will certainly be giving this retailer a go this Christmas. The food did look good!
Sainsburys – Christmas is for sharing.
Blimey, not sure I would have wanted to be the FD signing off this budget. This is a lesson on if you are going to do something, do it properly. Controversial we know as the ASA did receive 727 complaints, but we think stunning, moving and very unique. Captivates you to the end and with a wonderful twist. Well done brave Client and the team at AMV.
