You wanna see four excellent Christmas ads?
Here ya go.
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None of these ads are from this year, obviously, because this year’s X-Mas ads range from boring to pandering to fucking terrible.
I know lots of y’all feel this is “the most wonderful time of the year”, so enjoy some actual wonderful Christmas advertising creativity.
1. FUSSY Natural Deodorant (UK)
I also hate carolers. But this armpits choir version of “Deck The Halls” is, again, wonderful. I would not only pay them well, I’d invite them in for some cookies and very spiked eggnog. The product is even environmentally-friendly. From the press note:
“The amount of single-use plastic we throw away every year is just silly. So why not a silly song to help provide a solution! Now more than ever is the time to be Fussy about the brands and products we choose to support”.
From 2022. Ad agency & Production: 10 Days.
2. ROKU (USA)
“Ukrainian” “Moxkat Grvida” is one of my favorite ever spokespersons. The theme here—gift yourself; fuck everybody else—was not a breakthrough idea Yet this strategy fits the product perfectly, and I love perfect-fitting strategies because that’s how you build brands. Nice! (Moxkat accent)
Why Moxkat has a trampoline is a bit of a puzzle. Maybe he self-gifted it to himself? In one of the funny short secondary ads from the campaign, Moxkat bemoaned the year he got cargo pants instead of a hunting rifle.
From 2013. Ad agency: Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners.
3. ALDI (UK)
ALDI’s current X-Mas effort features Kevin The Carrot. It/He sucks. Ten Santas ago, they put out this 20 seconds of Funny that smartly extended their excellent Like Brands. Only Cheaper. campaign. Ad agency: McCann, Manchester. NOTE: Aldi’s cheap champagne even won a taste test against Moet and Veuve Clicquot.
4. CANAL+ (France)
And here is the best Christmas ad ever created. It always warms the cockles, atriums, and even ventricles of my blood pumper.
Everybody’s watching the action movie: Joseph, Mary, a King, a Donkey. The King tapping his watch is a brilliant ending touch. This reimagining of the Bethlehem Nativity scene was shot in Morocco, directed by the Glue Society’s Gary Freedman. Ad agency: BETC, Paris.
