Retailers including Coles and Aldi plus Australia Post and UK department store John Lewis have launched memorable campaigns that stray away from Christmas tradition and stereotypes.
AdNews spoke with Dan Ratner, the CEO of branding and communications agency Uberbrand, who says that there are two type of ads, high quality versus low quality.
And for supermarket ads, it’s tough to create new content, as made evident in home grown traditional Coles advertising.
He said: "There is a tale of two types of ads, I would say. The ads with high-quality productions versus low production values."
Ratner Describes the Aldi ad as anything but traditional and in fact used the phrase “Out there” in its You Can't Overcook Christmas campaign.
He said: "It's tough to find new ground, especially for the supermarkets when the story arc is well trodden - family and food with humour pulled through from the frustration of obligation.
“The differentiation comes through the application of brand tone of voice. Coles just isn’t allowed to be as out there as Aldi, but personally I was left with the ‘what did I just watch’ feeling after the Kill-Bill style fight scene in Aldi’s commercial.”
Ratner says that for non-food brands, there is more opportunity for play, as such is evident in Australia Posts’ Spread the Merry campaign.
Ratner: "For the non-food brands, there’s more play and opportunity. For Australia Post, it’s their busiest time of year, so higher production values help reinforce the care they promise to be taking, to make sure everything makes it to its intended destination on time.”
The brand expert says that John Lewis has harnessed its advertising spend to the company's benefit in its The Beginner campaign.
Ratner: “Then there’s John Lewis. A brand that culminates all its communication into one big highly-anticipated story.
“They have used this time of year and their budget to make their advertising an asset of their brand – almost a construct. And this year, they have used it to demonstrate their commitment to broader social issues and shine a light on how they contribute, as is always done with story-telling and quality production.
“But, bear in mind, the UK experiences this time of year so differently to us down here in Australia -- so they use that dreary overlay to help reinforce their storyline.”
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