Kermit The Frog And Friendly Dogs: The Most Shared Ads Of November

With the big day less than a month away, the headline story is naturally: ‘Who is winning the Christmas ads race?’

Scrolling through the most-shared spots of November, festive is spirit is indeed everywhere, from small brands to big-budget behemoths. Whether you like your Christmas advertising sincere, silly, satirical or sweet, there is more or less something for everyone.

Which leads us to this year’s current frontrunner, John Lewis’ ‘#ManOnTheMoon’. While the British department store has been synonymous with the high-concept Christmas advert for several years now, competition was looking stiff this time around, with several would-be successors vying for the Christmas crown.

To add to this, John Lewis also plumped for a slightly unusual concept this year, a play on the myth of the man in the moon, which couldn’t be further from the relatable family stories that they usually go for.

With over 1,100,000 shares this month, ‘#ManOnTheMoon’ has done what John Lewis hoped for, more than seeing off main competitor Sainsbury’s offering in second place. Lagging by about 300,000 shares, Sainsbury’s ‘Mog’s Christmas Calamity’ is certainly no failure, charmingly invoking childhood memories of Judith Kerr’s beloved book series. What this year’s campaign lacked in headline-stirring controversy, it made up for in wholesome family fun.

Elsewhere, the spirit of Christmas means different things to different brands. For Coca-Cola Brasil at number 15, this entails a John Lewis-esque epic about a boy, his father, and the bridge they build together. True to its title, ‘Uma Ponte Para Noel’, this bridge literally brings Santa Claus into their town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DEfCsW2_xk&feature=youtu.be

Burberry’s typically gold-plated effort finds celebrities bouncing up and down in tribute to 15 years of ‘Billy Elliot’. Meanwhile, Duracell’s lovely ‘Battle For Christmas Morning’ is an action-packed ode to playing with toys on Christmas morning and, yes, them inevitably needing batteries.

Oh, and we’d be remiss if we overlooked Aldi’s brilliantly tongue-in-cheek takedown of ‘#ManOnTheMoon’ at number 16. If you think the Christmas ad giants need some air taken out of them, this is the one to watch.

Coming in high at number 4, Warburton’s have something even better to celebrate: the arrival of a slighter larger crumpet. And to support their momentous product launch, their latest ad enlists the help of everyone’s favourite felt dolls, the Muppets. ‘The Giant Crumpet Show’ may not be the most original Muppets outing (they mostly just replace the word ‘muppets’ with ‘crumpets’), but it’s a throwback that has clearly enticed viewers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLfMrj74otA&feature=youtu.be

But that’s enough festive cheer for the moment. A couple genuinely exciting campaigns make appearances further down this month’s chart. First up, it’s the return of Uncle Drew, the alter ego of NBA player Kyrie Irving and the star of three excellent Pepsi campaigns. If you’ve never seen an Uncle Drew spot, we thoroughly recommend checking out the back catalogue. This outing, written and directed by Irving, finds Drew in Miami and features cameos from Ray Allen and Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J.B. Smoove.

At number 14, Canon’s ‘Decoy: A Portrait Session With A Twist’ is similarly riveting. Though it seems initially like a take of Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Sketches’, the ad is more interested in subjectivity and the role of the artist.

In it, six photographers are told different backstories about the same man and then told to capture this angle on film. Thought-provoking and restrained, ‘Decoy’ is a fantastic concept, simply realised. Speaking of which, if you’re looking for artful exhilaration, look no further than Red Bull’s frankly mind-blowing ‘Kaleidoscope’ at number 18.

Rounding out this month’s chart, we have a new spot from the Istanbul Tourism Board, the strange return of DirecTV’s Manning Brothers rap and, for seemingly the 1,000th week running, fluffy animals manage to sustain our interest.

Most shared ads – November 2015