Okay, so where am I?
I'm up late, late late, So many pressing projects...
Of course, great advertising also comes out around the holidays. Each year, the flood of Christmas-themed commercials is the earliest indicator that the holiday season is upon us. I've got my favorites. I've also worked on some great campaigns. Here are some of the best holiday commercials of all time.
Coca-Cola
“Catch”
Coca-Cola cornered the Christmas market decades ago with their holiday ads featuring Santa Claus. Shoot, Santa started shilling Coke even before he took up smoking. Now the holidays and that hourglass-shaped bottle go hand-in-hand.
AT&T
"Reach Out and Touch Someone"
Back before FaceTime and when long distance was $2.49 a minute, grandpa could read bedtime stories.
Hershey’s Kisses
“Holiday Bells”
Imagine if a tree shaped outline of chocolate could play “Jingle Bells”...
Folgers Coffee
“Peter Comes Home”
Peter plays Santa and brews coffee. Simple and heartwarming.
John Lewis
“Man on the Moon”
We don't get to see these here in the Stats, but across the pond, the ad folks over at John Lewis know how to make a Christmas commercial.
Campbell’s Soup
“Snowman”
Before Olaf we had the Campbell’s Soup snowman..."M’m! M’m! Good!”
I'm up late, late late, So many pressing projects...
- A college magazine to put to bed...
- My Los Angeles Kings Jewels From The Crown columns...
- Research on the next big idea for the next Clio Award...
- Planning the former Communist bloc holiday trip in two weeks...
- Christmas gift wrapping...
All this fuss over the @Poundland @TwiningsTeaUK photo. clearly the elf is lifting up a heavy teabag that has fallen off a shelf trapping Barbie beneath. He should be praised for his actions. pic.twitter.com/Qk7fgVqpQf— Mr. Moustache (@MartinJSnelling) December 21, 2017
Yes, this was a actual advertising campaign posted on Poundland's social media accounts last year. Besides this photo featuring the famous Elf on the Shelf with a teabag dangling from his nether regions, there were supporting images of the elf in a hot tub with nude Barbies, an elf thrusting with a toothbrush, and the elf drawing a phallic-shaped cacti on an Etch-A-Sketch. For the innocents among us, you';; have to Google teabagging to see what it is. (SPOILER ALERT: NSFW.)
Yeah, I'm still speechless too.
Speaking of the Elf on the Shelf, are you tired of him? Jimmy Kimmel has the recipe to make Christmas great again.
Christmas is my favorite holiday. Why, you ask? Because Christmas is advertising and advertising is Christmas. I am far from a cynic, but those white, glimmering lights, the scent of newly cut conifers, those stop motion animated CBS television specials, remembering your friends and family with gifts, and even Santa Claus are pure capitalism. And, advertising is here to shine a light on it all.
Inspiring behavior change is at the core of advertising. Creating campaigns that make people feel is the pipe dream that all of in the ad game aspire to. We devote late nights, weekends, and 60 hour work weeks laboring on the big idea to make it even bigger. More emotion. Extra heartfelt. Collective, Christmas is our case study. It's a success that makes all other successes envious.
Besides great advertising, it also produces incredible comedy. Like this one from Saturday Night Live. In a parody of Glengarry Glen Ross, Winter's Breath (Alec Baldwin) is an elf sent by Santa to motivate elves (Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers) building toys for Christmas, reminding them to Always Be Cobbling.
In 2013, the Pew Research Center reported that four out of five non-Christians celebrate Christmas. That means someone, some now convinced a whole lot of people worldwide that Christmas was a lot more than the North Star, an immaculate birth, and three pour maidens without a proper dowry. Here's where I pop in and take credit for the success of Christmas on behalf of the advertising industry Kanye West-style. The ad industry has made Christmas into destination for togetherness, love and support. The pagan winter celebration has morphed into the shining example of the influence of marketing to spur affirmative moods and unite the world around us.
Of course, great advertising also comes out around the holidays. Each year, the flood of Christmas-themed commercials is the earliest indicator that the holiday season is upon us. I've got my favorites. I've also worked on some great campaigns. Here are some of the best holiday commercials of all time.
Coca-Cola
“Catch”
Coca-Cola cornered the Christmas market decades ago with their holiday ads featuring Santa Claus. Shoot, Santa started shilling Coke even before he took up smoking. Now the holidays and that hourglass-shaped bottle go hand-in-hand.
"Reach Out and Touch Someone"
Back before FaceTime and when long distance was $2.49 a minute, grandpa could read bedtime stories.
“Holiday Bells”
Imagine if a tree shaped outline of chocolate could play “Jingle Bells”...
Folgers Coffee
“Peter Comes Home”
Peter plays Santa and brews coffee. Simple and heartwarming.
John Lewis
“Man on the Moon”
We don't get to see these here in the Stats, but across the pond, the ad folks over at John Lewis know how to make a Christmas commercial.
Campbell’s Soup
“Snowman”
Before Olaf we had the Campbell’s Soup snowman..."M’m! M’m! Good!”