In recent years, the holiday season in the U.K. has seen people across the country paying more attention to their television screens than usual — not so much for their favourite shows or festive films but, rather, for the holiday commercials from Britain's largest retailers that flood the airwaves.
For many, the commercials' annual debuts mark the start of the holiday season.
"The ads are becoming more and more embedded in the culture of Christmas in the U.K.," said Helen Powell, an advertising professor at the University of East London. "We wait and we wonder what they're going to be. People anticipate them like they would the next big film."
Many of those who don't catch the ads on TV find and watch them online. The number of YouTube views the ads rack up is staggering, as is the torrent of tweets they generate.
Countless newspaper inches in the UK's most respected newspapers are devoted to in-depth reviews of the commercials, the kind more often reserved for blockbuster movies.
Perhaps that's not a surprise, though, given that the ads themselves sometimes pack major star power. Last year, one department store ad featured two supermodels, Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley and David Gandy, along with Oscar-nominated actress Helena Bonham-Carter.
Tugging at heart strings
One of this year's most-talked about ads comes from John Lewis, a popular department store. It spent a whopping $12.6 million on the marketing campaign. The centrepiece is a commercial which took nine months to produce and featured computer-generated animation done by the same production house that worked on the movie Planet of the Apes.
John Lewis 2014 Christmas Advertisement featuring Monty the penguin
(Watch the video)
It tells the story of a little boy named Sam and his best friend, Monty the penguin.The pair spend the two-minute ad playing together in heart-wrenchingly cute scenes straight out of the most picture-perfect childhood, but when Sam notices that Monty isn't completely happy without a female companion, he decides to find his animal sidekick one for Christmas. The surprise ending is designed to make even the most cynical viewers say, "Aww!"
The commercial had its very own trailer that ran during ad breaks a week before the full ad was released. There's also a "making of" documentary which has been viewed online more than 100,000 times.
Grocery chain Sainsbury's also went for emotional impact by running a commercial based on the December 1914 Christmas Truce between German and British soldiers fighting on the front lines of Belgium during World War One.
Sainsbury's 2014 Christmas Truce commercial
(Watch the video)
It starts by showing the soldiers huddled in their respective trenches, both sides singing stirring renditions of the hymn Silent Night. After their voices blend together over No Man's Land, the soldiers begin to emerge, meeting in the middle for a joyful game of soccer and touching moments of friendship.
When they hear the sound of a battle raging in the distance, they begin a hurried return to their trenches - but not before a British soldier covertly puts a chocolate bar in the coat pocket of his new German friend. Upon finding the chocolate after getting back to his dug-out, the German soldier smiles to himself, visibly touched.
Sainsbury's won't say how much the commercial cost to make. It has 14.9 million YouTube views and counting.
Owning the 'meaning of Christmas'
Both of the commercials follow what has become the cardinal rule of Britain's Christmas advertising extravaganza—that is, using emotive stories to tug at viewers' heart strings rather than promoting particular products.
'If you have a really good ad that touches people's hearts, people are going to seek it out, talk about it, look at it online and read about it in the press.'- Helen Powell, advertising professor
According to Powell, it's a strategic decision retailers make to try to "own the meaning of Christmas" in the eyes of the public.
"If you have a really good ad that touches people's hearts, people are going to seek it out, talk about it, look at it online and read about it in the press. So in terms of added value that has for the brand, it's much more significant than simply advertising traditional Christmas fare in the way it's been done in the past," said Powell.
John Lewis has developed a line of merchandise based on Monty the Penguin. Plush versions of the penguin sold out shortly after the Christmas commercial was released. (John Lewis )
Still, there is some direct marketing involved. For example, after its ad debuted, John Lewis began selling plush versions of Monty for about $170. Despite the steep asking price, they sold out online within hours.
The penguin and his girlfriend Mabel are also featured on everything from cufflinks and umbrellas to bedding and wall murals. There's even a book called Monty's Christmas.
For its part, Sainsbury's is selling the same type of chocolate bar given to the German soldier, with all proceeds going to the British Legion.
A trend not going away anytime soon
Sainsbury's is selling the chocolate bar featured in its Christmas ad for $1.80, with all proceeds going to the British Legion. (Sainsbury's )
This current cinematic trend in British Christmas advertising — with its epic tales, big budgets, high production values and star power — began about five years ago, according to Powell, at the height of the global economic downturn. Back then, it was aimed at spurring an ailing economy by lifting the nation's spirits as the biggest shopping season of the year approached.
Now that these kind of ads have become a sort of national institution, the brands are more driven by competition between each other to have the best, most talked-about holiday commercial. It's a trend unlikely to go away anytime soon, Powell said.
"This seasonal moment is really where your future success is determined," said Powell. "Ultimately, it's about keeping your brand in mind, placing it within the public consciousness. No brand in Britain can rest on its laurels … especially at the time of the year."
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