It’s December, and that can only mean one thing…our TVs are filled with new Christmas adverts! (Okay, we know we’ve been watching them since September). We asked some of our marketing academics to share their favourite Christmas adverts and why they enjoy them so much.
One of the most anticipated Christmas advert every year is probably the John Lewis ad. And we’ve got two in our favourite Christmas ads list!
Jump for Joy
Emma Williams, Lecturer in Marketing at the School of Management say her top Christmas advert choice is the John Lewis advert from 2016 – Buster the Boxer Dog! If you’re like Emma and love animals then this one is bound to be top of your list too.
Bouncing animals on a trampoline and a boxer dog having the best Christmas day ever…what’s not to love.
And as Emma says ‘It pulls my heartstrings and makes me smile every time’.
Spread the Love
Our second John Lewis Christmas advert entry is from this year with their Give a Little Love ad.
This one is chosen by Fiona Spotswood, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, and it’s perfect for 2020, particularly in a year when people are experiencing isolation and might just love a ‘virtual’ cracker poked through their windows.
Fiona comments, ‘I love this advert – the different textures in the different scenes are lovely and really tap into a feeling of craft and art that a lot of people have been engaging in this year.
But the best thing about this advert is the heart-hair style of the little boy towards the end. That’s a lockdown haircut if ever I’ve seen one!’
The Good Old Days
Throwing it back to 1963, we’ve got a classic Christmas ad for Babycham. Agnes Nairn, Professor of Marketing tells us she spent her childhood feeling very sophisticated being allowed to drink a Babycham at Christmas.
Agnes says, ‘Although this advert is rather before my time it shows an ad for a product that was iconic despite being really disgusting. It’s a piece of advertising that would now be banned because it uses images appealing to children to advertise alcohol!’
Probably not an advert we’ll be seeing re-appear on our TV screens any time soon.
Agnes has now researched areas of gambling advertising to children and has been published in a range of international journals.
Management’s @AgnesNairn will be speaking about Children and online gambling: an impending crisis? in upcoming live online event 13 Oct 7.30pm
Book your tickets here: https://t.co/43lFxg0PMA@BRLSI #gambling
— University of Bristol | School of Management (@bristoluni_mgt) October 9, 2020
Tearjerker
Get your tissues at the ready for this one. We know Disney are brilliant at evoking their viewer’s emotions, and their 2020 Christmas ad is no exception.
Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Eleonora Pantano shared this one commenting, ‘I literally love this advert but it makes me wish I could hug my grandma this Christmas.’
(Excuse us ugly crying)
Treat Yourself…it’s 2020
Now there’s nothing like a happy little goat in a new outfit to put a smile back on your face. A second top Christmas advert from Eleonora Pantano (it’s just too hard to choose one) is TK Maxx’s 2020 ad.
Eleonora says, ‘As a fashion victim beyond being an academic, I hope to have many occasions in 2021 (absolutely more than in 2020) to dress up!’
That’s our top Christmas advert list in the School of Management, we’d love to hear what your favourite Christmas ad is!