The early start of Christmas campaigns in the UK

Selfridges launched his “Birthday of Dreams” campaign on October 28. On the 4th of November, two heavyweights, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis, gave the go-ahead to start the campaign on British High Street. That was about two weeks earlier than in previous years, and both stops are pulled over to get customers in the Christmas mood and in the mood to buy. In any case, no savings were made on TV advertising.

The Advertising Association estimates that retailers and brands will spend nearly £1 billion on marketing and advertising in the three months leading up to Christmas compared to last year. The Advertising Association expects total advertising spending to be £7.9 billion for this year’s holiday season. That’s 13% more than in 2020 – and thus means a return to the annual Christmas ad battle for big budgets.

The change in e-commerce accelerated by the Covid-19 crisis has radically changed the marketing and advertising strategies of major British retailers, with many brands even moving their activities into the digital space. But they also know that it’s TV advertisements that bring that cool factor, which sparks enthusiasm and fuels the desire to buy.

Marks and Spencer want to get back to normal

Back to normal – this is the motto of Marks & Spencer. If an expensive TV campaign was waived last year because the pandemic hit the company so hard, there are two TV ads this year: one for food and one for clothes. Both spots first aired on ITV’s “Good Morning Britain” and “This Morning” on Thursday morning.

The 60-second food spot, in which the iconic Marks and Spencer character Percy Page has been brought to life through animation, is right from the start. Spider-Man star Tom Holland the pig has lent his voice in bright pink and leads through the dining hall at Marks and Spencers.

Weihnachtsspot von M&S Food: Percy Page comes to life

The 40-second fashion website, created by the integrated creative agency ODD and photographed by Autumn de Wilde, focuses on the product. The ad is inspired by the world of musicals and the slick star dances during Christmas moments – from shopping for gifts to fun family pajamas. The site operates under the slogan “Anything But Ordinary”, launched by Marks & Spencer for the fall-winter season and which is supposed to represent the style, quality and value of the retail giant’s products.

Runs across all customer channels, Anna Braithwaite explains, “Our campaign celebrates the joy of the season and shows that Marks & Spencer is a one-stop-shop for everything you need to make Christmas special,” Anna Braithwaite explains. M&S Director of Apparel and Home. When planning this year’s campaign, the pandemic was kept in mind. Because Covid has made everyone rethink what’s important. “Christmas means a lot to our customers this year, 40% of families have told us they want to celebrate Christmas more this year than they did before Covid,” Braithwaite said.

Weihnachtsspot von M&S Clothing: Anything but normal

Braithwaite also knows from customer surveys that they want a more traditional birthday, with office parties and shopping. The whole season is important to customers and this has been taken into account. The pandemic may have an impact on the way Marks & Spencer runs Christmas advertising in the long run. “We will stay in touch with our customers and monitor the mood of the nation,” Braithwaite said.

John Lewis depends on emotions

The John Lewis Partnership retail group’s Christmas commercials have traditional cult status and have been eagerly awaited for over a decade. This year, John Lewis returns to the tried and tested recipe for extraordinary emotions and friends with his Christmas commercial. The two-minute site show “An Unexpected Guest”, created in partnership with agency adam & eveDDB, premiered Thursday night at 8:15pm on ITV during the British Pride Awards. 3.7 million customer cardholders were able to see the site early in the morning at 6.30 a.m. via their exclusive access to pre-launch email at 8 a.m. on the company’s website and social media channels.

The film tells the story of a friendship that celebrates the magic of Christmas moments for the first time. A teenage love story emerges in which alien Nathan finds Skye, who has crashed on her strange body in the nearby woods. Nathan wears his Christmas sweater and shows Skye the joys of Christmas.

A Christmas Spot from John Lewis & Company: An Unexpected Guest

As a miracle of the Christmas season, introduce her to festive dining with family and friends, knitwear and fairy lights, and bring Skye the mince pie, which she eats for the first time. Their friendship grows while they watch movies and play in the snow. But it’s time for Skye to return to their planet and the couple separate. It’s a sweet, bitter, and heart-warming moment when Nathan gives her his Christmas jacket before boarding her ship. It disappears at night and leaves a twinkling star on the Christmas tree. The look in her eyes reminds us of the magic of Christmas and important moments.

“After the past eighteen months, our advertising has focused on celebrating festive moments with loved ones while looking forward to a brighter future,” said Claire Boynton, director of clients at John Lewis. John Lewis says “Back to Christmas Basics” to the 1985 soundtrack by Philip Aoki and Giorgio Morudo, Together in Electric Dreams, paraphrased by 20-year-old singer-songwriter Lola Young. John Lewis customers can experience the story of the place at Christmas Emporiums at ten branches, through the app, the website, and on Snapchat.

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This is how Selfridges celebrates Christmas

Less than 60 days before Christmas, British supermarket group Selfridges launched its “Christmas Dreams” campaign last Thursday in its stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester. The iconic displays and a digital campaign with actress Jane Horrocks were given the green light.

Also this year, something will be done for a good cause. A version of Christmas jumper Nathan for his new girlfriend Skye is available for purchase at John Lewis stores and at johnlewis.com in sizes for men, women and children priced from £14-29. John Lewis donates 10% of the profits of every jump sold to two charities.

Sentiment and a desire to get back to normal set the tone this year, after last year’s Christmas business for retailers due to the pandemic but all failed.