Beyond Christmas Cheer: The Power of Emotional Advertising

big group senior copywriter, Adam Wilsher, discusses the importance behind the emotional advertising of Christmas ads and how Marketers can utilise this across all campaigns. 

I’m not crying. You are.

I have been ‘asked’ to write a whimsical blog article about Christmas adverts. Which is great news for me, as whimsy is my strong suit. And I’m not going to apologise for bringing up the subject of Christmas in October, because I got my first Christmas email in July, so I’m kind of behind the curve.

Anyway, one Christmas advertising article coming up. Ho ho ho.

Christmas is all about emotion, family, love, and a greater ideal. Advertisers can put aside their daily diet of price-based persuasion and target the bigger picture of being a force for good, in the hope that their sudden and unexpected change of tack will make us invest in our own happiness via their goods and services.

It’s been emotional.

Christmas ads stand alone as an appeal to emotion – happy families, warm fires, lavish feasts, the perfect portrayal of a classic Christmas. The narrative takes us on an emotional rollercoaster that begins as benign and ends in a denouement of delight. Whimsical enough for you? And these ads work. They are the most anticipated and talked about snippets of commercial art of the whole year.

But why? And why not take the emotional narrative and run with it through the rest of the year? I’m going to tell you why, because this article isn’t about Christmas, it’s about the human brain, that complex 3lb lump of connectivity that is similarly unique in us all.

Like it or not, we are emotionally led beings. I know we’re logical, balanced and professional in our work lives, but is that how you honestly describe yourself in your personal life? It’s not a great Tinder profile (I know this from bitter inexperience) but looks good on a resume.

Let’s leave Christmas with the Elf on the shelf and look at the brain.

If I only had a brain.

The anatomy of the human brain is well understood. It looks like a walnut. The main bit – the cerebrum – is divided into two halves, joined by a mesh of fibres called the corpus callosum. Many smart science people have posited that there’s a functional difference between the left and right hemispheres, and marketers have jumped on this, labelling accountants as logical left-brained, and artists as resourceful right-brainers. But accountants cry, and artists can have hearts of stone, so this analysis is loose at best.

More modern theories propose that the brain is designed to pay attention, and that the right brain looks at the bigger picture whilst the left brain looks at closer detail. It’s similar to the System 1 & 2 theories put forward by that genius Kahneman, but slightly refined. The right brain scans the dark, the left brain looks for the predator’s eyes shining back at us.

There be dragons.

When it comes to branding and Christmas adverts, the right brain is more attuned to emotion so is receptive to an emotive appeal. The right brain tells us that Aldi’s Kevin the carrot is super-lovely, and the left brain then looks at the price. The right brain empathises with Edgar the Dragon’s fire breathing problems; the left brain is confused as to why this is good for the John Lewis Partnership. But add in some big eyes and a banging soundtrack, and it’s the talk of the town.

Research by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) shows that emotional strategies ensure greater success over the longer term1, reporting ‘double the likelihood of very large profit growth after three years’ opposed to those campaigns that are more rational, so why are these campaigns limited to Christmas?

Well, firstly it’s because in the middle of Winter we are primed for an emotional extravaganza, so ready for a more emotive approach. Secondly, for the rest of the year we’re too busy avoiding problems and saving money to get the feels when shopping for groceries, and Christmas ads are more to do with longer term brand loyalty than emptying the shelves.

Now is the winter to be content.

Emotional campaigns work to build extra share of voice (ESOV) over time – hence the anticipation of what John Lewis et al are going to do later this year. It is in this way that emotional advertising builds sales, brand loyalty and profile, and if it’s done well, the results are clear to see.

Emotional advertising works over the long run, grabbing attention from both sides of our brains to deliver a relationship built on emotive and rational appeal. Why more brands don’t create emotionally led ads more often throughout the year is a mystery, as they are proven to work across a broad range of metrics.

Let’s all hope this year’s crop of Christmas ads don’t let us down, and we get all dewy-eyed at the prospect of buying brussels sprouts again.

Because emotionally driven advertising works. It’s a no brainer.

1. The advantage of emotional strategies over the long term (The long and the short of it. Binet & Field, IPA.

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