Gravity Road – Three
As someone with two parents, both of whom have birthdays in the week before Christmas Day, this is one ad I can really relate to. This week, Three launched its festive campaign “Merry Birthday,” to celebrate everyone in the UK with Christmas time birthdays. From the joint presents, to the nights out that never happened and the hundreds of Merry Christmas messages clogging up social media in place of the Happy Birthdays, it's even more difficult now than it was back in the 1970's when my parents were my age (or as I like to call it, the stone ages). In fact, the problem is so bad, that Three questioned 1,000 people with December birthdays and 76% said that they wish they were born at a different time of year. This is the insight behind Three’s 2015 integrated festive campaign, with its new online film featuring Noel, the boy who lost his birthday to Christmas. Gravity Road founding partner Mark Eaves, said: “We can’t wait to air the new film and see the reactions from viewers. We think we’ve really struck a chord with Merry Birthdays. Not everyone dislikes their Christmas birthday, but that’s not the point, it’s a conversation starter and everyone can relate to it in some way, if you don’t have a Merry Birthday no doubt you’ll know someone who does.”
This week, Three launched its festive campaign “Merry Birthday” by Gravity Road, to celebrate everyone in the UK with Christmas time birthdays
Three will also be making it right for those with December birthdays over the next month with a number of tactics across its digital platforms. Firstly Three has teamed up with Great British Bake Off winner and cake expert Edd Kimber to create the Merry Birthday Pudding; a unique take on the classic Christmas treat. Three’s social pages will also undergo a makeover to celebrate all of those people across the UK with December birthdays, and consumers will have a chance to nominate their friends with December birthdays to win one of four Best Birthday Ever prizes. The network also has a few surprises up its sleeve for anyone who is born in December via a “Surprise and delight” social campaign. Seems like they're really running with this one!
Droga5 London – HOBBS
HOBBS London has launched its first ever Christmas campaign from Droga5 London. “Give a little Hint” is the result of a survey conducted earlier this year where the women's clothing retailer asked 100 of their customers a series of questions relating to their Christmas shopping habits and giving and receiving gifts. The results were unanimous with over 80% of women admitting that they received a gift from a loved one last Christmas that they wouldn’t have chosen for themselves. Further analysis of the results helped the brand to recognise that HOBBS woman has the toughest role to play at Christmas. Writing cards, wrapping presents, cooking meals and entertaining family members all while having the usual work commitments. She always gets her loved ones the right gifts, but the opposite is not always true. Yet with all of the hard work she puts in, no one deserves the right gift more than she does.
HOBBS London has launched its first ever Christmas campaign from Droga5 London
The “Give a Little Hint” campaign puts her back in control by turning their price tags into Wish Tags. All she has to do is fill out a Wish Tag for her favourite item, address it to a loved one and post it in one of the special wish Tag post boxes. HOBBS will then send it to her loved one free of charge, who can then bring the ‘wish tag’ in store, view online or contact the dedicated customer service line to purchase the right item. The service also comes with a luxury free gift wrapping service. The survey also helped the brand to identify the ‘most wanted’ gifts in demand by their customers which included a selection of outerwear, footwear and accessories, Cashmere and the home fragrance.
Deutsch – PNC
PNC Bank recently released its 32nd annual Christmas Price Index, which mimics the Consumer Price Index by pricing out each gift from the classic Christmas carol, The 12 Days of Christmas. But this year, Deutsch & PNC wanted to bring fun and finance together for Christmas, by building the world’s first life-size bank branch made of real gingerbread, with an accompanying 360-degree augmented reality tour! The PNC Gingerbread Branch was open to the public between December 4 and 6 at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia.
Deutsch & PNC wanted to bring fun and finance together by building the world’s first life-size bank branch made of real gingerbread
Inside the Gingerbread Branch, kids and their families learned about the gifts and their prices from 12 beautiful columns meticulously crafted by expert pastry chefs. They enjoyed hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies from the Cookie Counter. The Gingerbread Branch wasn’t just a showcase for the Christmas Price Index, it was a working PNC Bank branch, where you could open an account or get some cash from a cookie-encrusted ATM. The design and architecture of the branch was part Art Deco and part Willy Wonka.
Grey London – Vodafone
A little late on this one, but it is rather special, and better late than never right? This heart-warming advert by Grey London for Vodafone UK follows the adventures of a modern family who have recently moved away from their urban life to set up in the countryside. Embracing their new lifestyle and getting back to nature, the family decides to raise a turkey (affectionately named Terry) in the run up to Christmas. What really sets it apart however, is the delightful twist ending, which brings a smile to my face no matter how many times I see it.
This heart-warming advert by Grey London for Vodafone UK stars a Turkey named Toby and has a surprising, heart-warming ending
Cindy Rose, consumer director at Vodafone, said: “Terry’s tale is a classic Christmas story with a twist – featuring a heartwarming message of goodwill. This advert brings to life how Vodafone can play a big part in bringing people closer to their loved ones at Christmas, whilst perfectly capturing the nation’s mood at this magical time of year.” Running throughout the festive period, the Christmas campaign will also feature shortened 10-second videos of Terry, taking centre-stage to highlight some of the great value offers at Vodafone this festive season.
J. Walter Thompson London – Kitkat
As the countdown to the festive season starts in earnest, millions of Brits already have one worried eye on the exhausting side of Christmas. On top of this, they have to contend with more and more banal Christmas ads, starting earlier and earlier, featuring traditional jingly bells, families around the turkey, re-recorded Christmas songs and all the usual Christmas schmaltz. So J. Walter Thompson London has taken this Christmas-based antipathy and combined it with the long-running Kitkat tagline “Have a break,” by giving us a break from the usual Christmas crap.
J. Walter Thompson London's new Christmas spot for Kitkat is essentially 30 seconds of nothing
The film features 30 seconds of a completely white set while a soothing voice over by actor Tom Hollander questions if just absolutely nothing isn’t nice for a change. The spot features an unchanging greyish background as Hollander talks about giving viewers a break from the Christmas onslaught and includes a few not-so-subtle digs at the John Lewis campaigns. It's witty and actually rather brave, though also a little disingenuous. Russell Ramsey, executive creative director at J. Walter Thompson London, said: “..........” Clever right?
Honorary Mention: McCann London – Bisto
This one isn't technically a Christmas ad, though I feel it ties into the unofficial Christmas 2015 adland theme of elderly appreciation, hence the honorary mention. Bisto has launched a new TV ad showing a real family inviting an elderly neighbour over for Sunday lunch as part of the brand’s Spare Chair Sunday campaign. The ad, created by McCann London, shows The Handfield-Walker family hosting Connie, a 93-year-old lady who currently lives on her own and doesn’t often get to enjoy a roast on Sunday with the company of others. Bisto launched the Bisto Spare Chair Sunday campaign in September this year as an initiative to combat the growing issue of loneliness amongst older people. Bisto has partnered with national charity Contact the Elderly on the project, which encourages people to volunteer to invite a lonely older person for Sunday lunch. Lovely stuff that really hits at the true sentiments behind Christmas. Also. Gravy!
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK.
