The clocks have gone back, we said RIP to Halloween for another year, and Strictly is in full swing, which can only mean one thing... Christmas is coming!
Not only is it my favourite time of the year (don’t tell my Jewish grandmother), but it’s by far the most creative, where emotive storytelling really comes to life and brands compete to win hearts and minds.
And the creative bods haven’t disappointed, so far. Here’s a look at some of my favourites and one that didn’t quite connect for me.
HITS
Olio's Wonderful World
Food-sharing app Olio’s campaign to highlight the issue of household waste and how its app can help solve the problem really caught my attention this week, not least because of the COP26-focussed media agenda.
The juxtaposition of seeing children singing about our wonderful world against a backdrop of a rubbish dump was hugely powerful. As a parent, who’s guilty of buying far too many toys that rarely get played with before being cast away, this really hit home, especially with Christmas (and Chanukah) just around the corner.
So, I downloaded the app to find out more. Isn’t that what great advertising’s all about: changing behaviour and driving action?
A clever ad, squarely targeted at parents and perfectly timed. Just wonderful.
Lego rebuilds Christmas
Another ad that connected to my old, cold, PR-hardened heart and resonated with me as a mum was Lego’s Rebuild The World Christmas iteration.
From Star Wars stormtroopers being chased by bees to a dragon putting out fires instead of starting them (a la John Lewis Christmas 2019), we see the world reimagined through the eyes of a child. Teaching children that anything is possible is such an important message and Lego does it brilliantly.
And the soundtrack, Build Me Up Buttercup, plays straight into parents’ hearts and heads (I can’t get it out of mine, now – cheers, Lego!)
Alongside the campaign, Lego is also promoting its annual #BuildToGive initiative, which pledges to donate a new set to children in hospitals, children’s homes and vulnerable communities for every social pic shared using the hashtag.
Creative execution, catchy soundtrack and charitable angle – the perfect building blocks to any good Christmas campaign.
MISSES
Chilly's Reusable Way of Living
Another brand using COP26 as a launchpad for a creative campaign is reusable product maker Chilly’s.
It imagines a sustainable future where reusable products are the norm, with its cups, bottles and food pots replacing plastic alternatives in everyday situations. So far, so good, right?
Wrong.
From a parrot sharing a takeaway with its owner and food being delivered in pots to a hen party, to talk of farting (I hear enough of that with my eight-year-old son) and school kids accosting an elderly couple of hikers to have a quick selfie before the climb was just all a bit odd.
And don’t get me started on the weird plastic bottle floaty things.
Props to Chilly’s for championing environmentalism. Great idea and message; poor execution, sadly.
Sorry, but I think Chilly’s is going to be left out in the cold on this one.
