T’was The Hype Before Christmas

“T’was the hype before Christmas

When all through ad-land

Every creative was stirring, each household name brand

Slots were booked, during X Factor with care

The ‘John Lewis Effect’ has made marketers dare”

For a while now, UK ad-land has been waking up on Christmas morning, hoping to find the gift of ‘brand competitiveness’ under the tree. This neatly wrapped present would contain a whole range of festive TV ads, all shot according to the highest production values, with the most imaginative creative, and all would compete for the highly sought-after accolade of Christmas number one commercial. 

In past years, however, brands have adopted a similar stance to the music industry. It’s felt more like a case of ‘why bother’ when you know that the X-Factor winner will claim the number one spot in the music charts and John Lewis will scoop all the plaudits for its festive ad offering. 

Last year’s ‘Bear and the Hare’ ad racked up 13.1 million views on YouTube, whilst The Journey by John Lewis in 2012 saw a total of 4.7 million views. This Christmas, Monty the Penguin received seven million views on YouTube and Facebook in the first 24-hours of its release and by mid-November, had smashed the Bear and the Hare’s total. 

Currently, John Lewis’ YouTube views are spiralling towards 17 million for Monty but for perhaps the first time, the retail brand is no longer alone in its bid to wear the Christmas commercial crown. 

This festive season, creative agencies and brands have finally decided not to let John Lewis have it all its own way. 

Sainsbury’s released a beautiful spot depicting the truce held between the English and German armies on Christmas Day 1914, whilst Burberry gave Romeo Beckham his acting debut in an ad reflecting the golden age of cinematic musicals.

Sainsbury’s attracted 4.6 million YouTube hits within 24-hours of the release of its Paul McCartney Pipes of Peace remake. It’s now close to 11 million views, whereas Burberry’s ‘From London with Love’ has attracted over 7 million.

Sainsbury’s and Burberry’s social viewing figures are all the more impressive when we consider their short-form ads are both over three and a half minutes long. Who would normally watch brand adverts that long when browsing? By Christmas Day the answer is likely to be more than the total number of people who watched last year’s outright Bear and the Hare winner. That is not only great news for all of us working in the production of short-form films but it’s also the clearest sign yet that social media has matured into an extremely powerful viewing channel which requires high quality content. 

For me personally, I’m excited that UK adland finally has its own Super Bowl moment in the advertising calendar. Brands can compete for recall and exposure all the way up until Christmas Day and the results can be clearly seen on YouTube. It reminds us all of the effectiveness and impact a high-quality and highly creative ad can have. 

This year I’ve enjoyed watching the productions from Boots (1.5 million views), the Marks & Spencer fairies Magic and Sparkle (3 million views) and Argos (800,000 views). 

But most of all, I’ll enjoy waking up on Christmas morning knowing that the power of social is finally driving the competitive magic of Christmas commercials. I already can’t wait to see who will push John Lewis all the way next year. 

Alex Grossman is an Executive Producer at B-Reel