My Most Immortal Christmas Ad
As if picking this year’s Immortal Awards winners wasn’t enough, or inaugural jury have opened the annals and looked back to Christmases past to pick their favourite ever Christmas ads.
From a fizzy-drink fixated snowman to a range of ‘luxury’ stocking fillers, have a peek at what our jurors picked as their festive favourites...
Irn Bru – Snowman
It’s every Christmas ad cliché. A snowman. A traditional cartoon. A carol. But it’s not a Christmas ad at all. It’s an Irn Bru ad, at Christmas. And those lyrics are so good.
Ant White, Chief Creative Officer, CHE Proximity
Harvey Nichols – Sorry I Spent It On Myself
Christmas is a hard time to come up with something new, particularly something that is not really emotional. And that’s exactly what Harvey Nichols did in 2013. This luxury UK retailer invented a new line of really cheap, funny products for Christmas so you could buy good, expensive things for yourself. Funny, clever and based on real people! The Sorry I Spent It On Myself Gift Collection is Immortal!
Joanna Monteiro, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Brasil
H&M – Come Together
The film is like the perfect Christmas present itself. It’s whimsical, beautiful and every time I watch it, I discover yet another detail in the crafting of it that I didn’t see before. It’s a lovely little story that steers away from the over-the-top tear-shedding style that has become the norm. The brand is nicely integrated. The crafting is beautiful. Yes, it’s longer than an average spot. Yes, it was directed by Wes Anderson. And yes, it looks like a Wes Anderson film. That’s part of what makes it one of the very few Christmas ads I wish I had done and my favourite one.
Sergio Lopez, Chief Production Officer, McCann Worldgroup EMEA
Provides a great, shareable asset for everyone that uses it. Still holds up and continues to evolve. Every holiday interactive brief still references it. The Straight Out of Compton of the holidays!
Pam Scheideler, Chief Digital Officer, Deutsch
I am no Grinch but if like me you’ve had Christmas ad overload then this surprising ‘hack’ of the Amazon Christmas ad will bring some dark joy to your life. It’s a great piece of hacking popular culture and using the often-overlooked power of sound to mess with your mind. Although I am breaking the Best Christmas rules format it stopped me in my track and did what a good piece should do and was shared around the office. Dark but fun!
Wayne Deakin, Executive Creative Director, HUGE
John Lewis - #EltonJohnLewis
The #eltonjohnlewis is pretty damn good, I have to say. I also love how John Lewis have committed - always a simple idea around the power of a gift, great soundtrack, cinematic storytelling. And with the same agency all this time. There's not enough of that these days: ideas, and relationships, with staying power.
Stephanie Feeney, Director of Strategy, 72andSunny
Allegro – English for Beginners
I like that it doesn’t start out as a ‘normal’ holiday spot, it kind of creeps up on you. You’re drawn into the story with the character’s awkwardly comical journey to learn English. And then it culminates into a beautiful moment at the end. I just love its simplicity and range of emotion.
Kinney Edwards, Executive Creative Director, Tribal New York
M&M’s – Faint
I was in college when this debuted. 22 years later, the brand’s classic story still brings out the best of the holiday season: belief in magic, sarcasm and unconsciousness.
Lauren Connolly, EVP & Executive Creative Director, BBDO New York
State Farm - Don't You
Finding an ad for the worst time of year to pick as all-time favourite was harder than I thought. Yes, I’m guilty of clicking on the classic big brand's new Christmas spot as soon as it arrives in my inbox. It’s usually fun, epic, expensive and entertaining. Dozens of creative brains have spent months working in secret, only for it to be forgotten post-Christmas. Millions are spent on advertising for Christmas each year to extract money from our pockets.
The State Farm spot was made for a tiny budget, yet it says everything without a voice-over or a cluttering message. Willis Earl Beal sings a few poignant words from the Simple Minds’ track, ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’. Job done. I won’t forget.
I see homeless every day and I hope I never stop caring but the reminder of those less fortunate shouldn't be something we get used to. If we didn’t notice the unfortunate before Christmas how do we see them now and worse, the day after and weeks that follow? Christmas is no longer a time to care and share, it’s a mad dash starting months before the event to guilt us into spending money we don’t have. Perhaps we don’t want to talk about or think about the sadness of others that Christmas is supposed to make us more aware of.
Time to read ‘A Christmas Carol’.
Laura Gregory, CEO & Founder, Great Guns
