In this festive reflection, Dean Taylor, CEO/Founder of Contagion, shares how the early sight of Christmas trees and nostalgic holiday advertising signal the joyful start of the season. He explores how these cherished traditions, rather than feeling like sales pitches, instead become welcoming holiday rituals that enrich our shared experiences. Ready to embrace the holiday spirit? Read on to find out more…

My little 8-year-old boy was in the window when I got home on the 26th November and said, “They’re selling Christmas trees down the road, can we go and get one?” I smiled, got back in the car and we got one straight away. It was early, but we dressed it and had a lovely time. I think I saw that as the start of the festive period for 2024 as we started putting presents underneath it. Customs and traditions are great, as they create deep positive emotional markers in our brains; we get taught these as young kids.

There are a lot of things that signify the start of the Christmas season. We are programmed to associate it with the very first sounds of the songs on the radio. For me, the start of the season was always seeing the Christmas adverts on the telly with my parents; so much love and care was put into these, they didn’t seem like commercial ventures trying to flog me stuff. They were little love letters to the holidays and made you feel awesome. What a trick to pull off, marketing actually makes the Christmas period better. They are something to look forward to.

Ads can simply be an annoyance, even for us marketers, especially in the digital age. However Christmas ads occupy a special place. By mid-November you are likely to see your social media feed with the big hitters and all the debate that goes with them. I can’t say I am a fan of the Coca-Cola AI ad, but I did share it. I have a great Client from Ireland and we must have emailed 10 times on the subject debating which was best.

Click here to watch the Coca-Cola ad

This is a bit lazy for me and doesn’t really hit the spot

The really good ones feel different from other ads, and this is something we can learn for all of our marketing. Christmas ads should leave you warm and fuzzy, they don’t have a ‘hard sell’. They deliver nostalgia and really hit you in a place that perhaps you haven’t visited for a while; it feels good. Like a lovely, familiar family member visiting for the holidays with mince pies. You can see Agency and Clients have worked hard with human insight to really make us fall in love with them.

John Lewis lead the charge for me and I loved the Elton John piece a few years ago, there are just so many good ones.

Click here to watch the John Lewis ad - Elton John

This hits all the right spots and is deeply touching

While the number of brands going for a deeper emotional connection is also increasing, the currency to go for is shareability. My personal favourite is this IRN-BRU ad featuring The Snowman.

Click here to watch the IRN-BRU ad – The Snowman

Beautifully executed and very funny

So Happy Christmas and have a wonderful holiday. If you get time, do a little search on YouTube to find your favourite. There are some great ones out there.

Source: Dean Taylor, 11 December 2024