Cara Delevingne, Gift Horses And The Singing Supermarket: Five Ads You Should Watch Right Now
Cara Delevingne sings, supermarket checkouts play Jingle Bells and Harvey Nicks tries to stop you getting rubbish Xmas presents . Yep, it’s just another week in AdLand!
So which ads have caught fire on the web over the last seven days? Here are our five picks.
Enjoy!
5. EDEKA – Kassensymphonie
When it comes to creating a Christmas advert that’s equal parts loveable and shareable, sometimes the old classics are best. In this case, German supermarket chain EDEKA cannily remixes WestJet’s ‘Christmas Flash Mob’ and Kmart’s ‘Jingle Bells’ to charmingly spontaneous effect.
While shopping is traditionally the least relaxing part of Christmas, EDEKA has generously injected some levity into proceedings. Perhaps the best part of ‘Kassensymphonie’ is seeing the initial look of frustration and annoyance on customers’ faces when the jolly music interrupts their stressful shopping schedules. If you like heartening fusions of consumerism and festive fun, this is the spot for you.
4. Harvey Nichols – Could I Be Any Clearer?
A lot of Christmas ads celebrate admirable, if slightly abstract, qualities: generosity of spirit, appreciating family and contentedness. Meanwhile, Harvey Nichols’s latest spot praises an underrated festive attitude: candour vis-à-vis present-giving.
We all have friends and relatives who consistently gift bizarre items no human could conceivably desire: a courgette sharpener, a tornado-proof iPhone case or an automatic pestle and mortar. The brilliantly named ‘Could I Be Any Clearer?’ claims we can get past these miscommunications with an injection of 100% honesty, by shouting from the rooftops exactly what we want to receive for Christmas.
So if my mum’s reading this, then I’d like to say that socks will be just fine.
3. Dodge – Guts Over Fear
Premiering a hit artist’s new song in an advert is a very cheeky way of racking up the shares. adidas did it with Kanye West, Samsung did it with Jay Z and now Dodge have convinced Eminem to give them a leg-up over the viral wall.
The ad itself is fairly unremarkable, a montage of a dingy boxing club cut together with Dodge’s latest model looking appropriately sleek. The real draw is the song which, despite the slightly regrettable title ‘Guts Over Fear’, has already attracted nearly 60,000 shares.
2. Chanel – Reincarnation
If you expected the short film premiere of Dracula-wannabe Karl Lagerfeld to be anything other than completely bonkers, then you’ve clearly missed the point of high fashion. As expensive perfume advertising has been emphasising for years, the point isn’t to say anything, but rather to make saying nothing look compelling.
And boy, is there plenty to be compelled by in ‘Reincarnation’. Leaving aside starring roles by Pharrell Williams and Cara Delevingne, the spot plays a little bit like a remake of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, except if Wes Anderson hadn’t read the script. There’s a musical number, magical paintings and a frankly surreal illusion to Coco Chanel herself. While there’s no telling if ‘Reincarnation’ will take off now, I’ve no doubt future generations will be deciphering its meaning for years.
1. WestJet – Spirit of Giving
Canadian airline WestJet had a tough act to follow with the roaring success of last year’s ‘Real-Time Giving’. With over two million shares, the spot was one of 2013’s most successful ads, as well as the second most-shared Christmas ad of all time.
Not to be deterred by a challenge, the brand responded with ramped-up philanthropy in the new ‘Spirit of Giving’, which takes the same wish-granting principle and takes it to an impoverished region of the Dominican Republic. Men, women and children line up long into the night and request gifts ranging from the predictable (a doll’s house or a toy car) to the utterly practical (a replacement engine for a motorbike). Whether or not ‘Spirit of Giving’ reaches the brand’s previous heights, at the very least it’s spread a bit of joy.
