The annual Christmas ad competition has shown what we really care about in the UK

Iceland has sadly ruled itself out, considering its ad has been deemed too political for broadcast, while Morrisons delivers a nice family message without much spark

Jenny Eclair
Monday 26 November 2018 11:44 GMT
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Viral Christmas advert made by Gloucestershire videographer leaves viewers in tears

It’s Christmas ad competition time and for me, the winner is Sainsbury’s, with its primary school Christmas show theme which manages to be heart-warming and a bit funky at the same time. The advert’s star (literally) is eight year old Tia Isaac who, once she gets over her initial wobble of showbiz nerves, manages to belt out New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” with magnificent gusto. Directed by Michael Gracey, who recently worked on The Greatest Showman, this ad is a two minute visual feast.

Ah but hold on, isn’t it a teeny bit similar to the John Lewis ad that came out earlier this year? The one with a school concert where the kids perform a fabulously over-the-top homage to “Bohemian Rhapsody”?

Sainsbury's Christmas advert The Big Night

Ok, I take it back, Sainsbury’s can’t win. Because although it is brilliant, it’s possibly a teeny bit of a copycat. So the winner must be John Lewis with their gorgeously shot Elton John extravaganza, which basically delivers the message, “get your child a musical instrument and with any luck they will grow up to be a global superstar and buy you a bungalow when you are old”.

The only time I bought my daughter a musical instrument for Christmas, it backfired spectacularly, and no, not because of the racket it made. It was much worse than that.

Our daughter was eight when my partner casually mentioned that someone at work was selling a pink electric guitar for a knock-down price. Immediately I pounced on this being the ideal surprise gift for her, after all, she was a big Spice Girls fan. We’d get her an amp too; it was a brilliant idea.

Only it wasn’t – she looked shell-shocked on opening her present, and was reluctant to pose for photographs with the guitar. We thought she was overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude… wrong! Some weeks later, having hidden the thing under her bed, she admitted the gift had frightened the living daylights out of her, she said it made her feel anxious about letting us down “if she wasn’t a pop star by the time she was 10”. Sorry, John Lewis, due to personal traumatic experience, you can’t win this year, though the casting of little Elton is utterly adorable and totally spot on.

So, who’s still in the competition? Well, Iceland has sadly ruled itself out, considering its ad has been deemed too political for broadcast. It’s a shame because the cartoon Rang-tan with her clear message against the perils of palm oil is a brilliant reminder that we should all do what we can to avoid buying the stuff. But now the ad has effectively been disqualified, it can’t win my competition. So we’re left with the usual bunch of festive runners and riders including Asda, which has done a fun montage of Christmas home-comers piling down a snowy slope by whatever means available, including some lovely choreography on skis, all to a Sixties Phil Spector tune. I was impressed.

Lidl’s contribution, based on “upgrading your Christmas” has a couple of great farting reindeers in one scene, but hasn’t the budget to really compete, whilst Morrisons delivers a nice family message but not much spark. As for Tesco, it’s a C+ because although the intentions are good (the different ways Christmas is celebrated), the result is quite ordinary and a bit old hat. But at least it’s better than Aldi, which continues to flog its confusing “celebrity carrot” idea to death, yawn.

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Waitrose has a variety of nicely done, likeable food themed shorties including a clever in-house response to the John Lewis ad, which is very meta and initially quite funny. Which leaves us with Marks & Spencer, which loses points for its “must-have” slogan, as it sounds bit grabby. But otherwise, it churns out a serviceable festive job, which is perfectly okay, if you can get over the archaic idea that men helping out in the kitchen is some kind of novelty (adland is also weirdly the last place anyone can find a dishwasher). However, it is neither special nor witty enough to win my coveted prize.

Thank goodness then for the last-minute entry from 32-year-old Phil Beastall, who for 50 quid has made a tear-jerker of a Christmas ad featuring a vaguely hipsterish bearded bloke counting down the days to Christmas, only for us to see that his festive treat is listening to an annual voice tape from his dead mother – cry? My carpet is still soaked because of course the tagline “love is the gift that keeps on giving”, beats all the fancy handbags and must-have this and you better buy me that.

Imagine how galling it must be this year for all those big names to get trounced by an unknown on a shoestring budget. It just goes to show that sometimes the messages that work best are the ones that come straight from the heart, rather than the wallet. I still want loads of stuff for Christmas, mind.

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