Christmas Advert Run Down: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Christmas season is here and every British house hold brand with a pot to piss in has thrown squillions of pennies onto their Christmas Adverts. Some have got it very right, and some not so much.

The Good

Let's start with the good. John Lewis "The Long Wait."



Less of an advert, more of a mini film, (with a budget to match) this one's been hot on the lips of every tweeter, newspaper and X Factor viewer of middle England.

It firmly shows the John Lewis way of thinking, putting the family at the heart of things and reminding us that "it's better to give than to recieve", a message that resonates particularly hard giving the economic turmoil we find ourselves in.

Is this entirely true? Over romantised and seeing life through John-Lewis-green tinted glasses? Yes, but it's Christmas and I can forgive them. I defy anyone to not feel a flutter of emotion when they watch this and for me, it's one of the most memorable, note-worthy and moving ads I've seen.

The Bad



An ad which the concept of the magic of Christmas has clearly been lost on, Littlewoods seem to have shattered millions of children's dreams. In one fowl swoop they've dispelled the myth that a magical man dressed in red riding a sleigh pulled by reindeers delivers Christmas presents to little boys and girls all around the country, and instead shown us what they think Christmas is all about, lots and lots and LOTS of expensive branded goods, all paid for over a 12 month period. Fantastic.

This ones also caused a bit of a furore over at netmums, who've had to have lots of conversations explaining to their children that Father Christmas really does exist. But beyond that, it's just a bit bloody annoying.

The Ugly



The Ugly has to go to Iceland. As much as I love Stacey Solomon, and her "I'm from Dagenham what am I like!" persona, there is just no way in hell she's going to persuade me to buy 500 sausage rolls for a quid.

Maybe Iceland should take a leaf out of John Lewis' book and offer the song for download, because I quite like it!

What's been your favourite Christmas ad this year?

Agent Provocateur Marketing

Edgy underwear brand Agent Provocateur has always pushed the boundaries when it comes to their advertising. The attitude of the brand is that women should unabashedly have the confidence to give in to their deepest desires, and their range of risqué lingerie reflects this as it encourages indulgence into passions and intimacy.

The company often use below the line techniques to attract attention to their message, for example by having models parade outside London Fashion Week with signs reading “More S&M, Less M&S” and using various shock advertising techniques. For example a risqué outdoor campaign on the number 23 bus caused London Transport to revaluate the types of advertising which are permitted on buses after a number of minor traffic incidents. Viral campaigns are also a large part of Agent Provocateur’s marketing of a specific story represented through a series of videos following character’s who entered a country mansion.

The undoubtedly sexy videos with slow lingering shots of various parts of the female anatomy have been reinforced by Facebook and Flickr where users have been successfully engaged with their brand as Facebook profile’s were set up for the character’s featured in their videos and Flickr users were invited to design a cover for erotic novels AP produced staring these characters.

Vogue has described their web site as “the sexiest web site in the world” and the same can easily be said for their banned cinema advertisement featuring Kylie Minogue, which was named the top celebrity viral ad of in 2009 and generated 350 million youtube hits, and their advert reminding men exactly why they shouldn’t forget Valentine’s Day in 2009 staring Rosie Huntington Whiteley.

Something I particularly like about AP is that their advertising shows women as being both attractive and liberated without being submissive. Their branding is similarly empowering to females and this message is something which I believe drives sales for this luxury brand. They are responsible for a change in attitude towards the underwear women choose. Long gone are the days when women would be shy about their choice of undies and instead AP have turned them into a form of expression. By turning underwear into an experience it lets women know that it’s okay to be sexual or risqué in a way it wasn’t before however at the same time behaving like this isn’t what they ought to be.