The Christmas advert
No doubt you’ll all have seen, or at least heard about, this year’s Christmas adverts. And whether the Marks & Spencer, Coca-Cola or John Lewis Christmas advert gets your vote, one thing we can all agree on is that they’re all very sophisticated.
But this wasn’t always the way. Indeed, it wasn’t until the Victorian times that Britain saw its first printed Christmas advert.
It was the humble Christmas card, first sent in 1843, that sparked off the trend. And, as the idea of sending cards over Christmas became more and more popular, some of the images, such as holly and ivy, made their way into advertising. But the printed ads were still very simple – probably because Christmas hadn’t fully developed as a festive holiday, but also because advertising was very much still in its infancy then.
In fact it wasn’t until the 1920s and 30s that Christmas themed adverts really started to develop and 1931 saw the first publication of a plump Santa drinking a glass of coke. With so many people now timing the start of the Christmas season according to the first showing of the newest Coco-Cola ad, it’s hardly surprising that advertisers spend a small fortune on it!
But how things have moved on. On a whole advertising has become more sophisticated and television has played a huge part in this. Now the Christmas advert is a far cry from the Victorian images of the late 1800s.
Take this year’s adverts for example. Not only are they beautifully produced, they each have their own Christmas tale to tell. Whether it’s #JohnLewis’ #penguins who fall in love at first sight, M&S’ matchmaking fairies or Boots’ gift for a nurse working on Christmas Day, the brands make every effort to pull at our heartstrings and bring tears to our eyes.
It’s no wonder that we look forward to seeing what the big brands will come up with each year!
Christmas offers brands huge opportunities in advertising, but it is important to get it right – in terms of the story, but also in terms of the PR campaign that runs alongside it. At Dragonfly we will manage your advertising campaign, but we will also tie it in with a social media campaign. Just look at how successful Monty the Penguin’s Twitter account is to see how social media can make your advertising campaign a success.
We’ll also ensure you achieve good editorial content to further your story whilst strengthening your brand to ensure that you have a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
For more information on how we can help you develop your Christmas advertising and PR campaign, call us on 01709 300130 or email us at enquiries@dragonflypr.co.uk.
