With just over 40 days to go until December 25th, it's that time of the year when we start seeing Christmas ads popping up everywhere.
Familiar favourites are making their way back onto screens, while companies are also revealing their new festive TV and radio spots.
One Irish ad has already received a warm reception, as Supervalu enjoyed a viral hit with a commercial that is a very 2020 twist on the traditional festive advertisement.
Christmas may be a little different this year but we all know who makes it extra special. Whether you’re keeping old traditions or making new ones we all love a magical Christmas. You just have to Believe……..
Check out our Christmas advert ⬇ pic.twitter.com/P3xmNiRahr— SuperValu Ireland (@SuperValuIRL) November 11, 2020
What exactly is it that makes a truly memorable Christmas ad? What is it about some ads that ensures they'll be broadcast for years and potentially decades to come?
Neal Davies, CEO of advertising agency BBDO Dublin, told The Hard Shoulder that Christmas always comes early if you're in the business of making Christmas ads.
He explained: "Christmas did come early for us this year. We did a lot of work with Lidl - one of our big clients... we did some important work with them at the height of the first lockdown, when we were reassuring customers against panic buying.
"That was mid-March - but by the early summer we were already planning the Christmas campaign... that's a long time ago - June."
'It's never a checklist'
For Neal, the basic ingredients for a good Christmas ad are largely the same - happy families, togetherness, festive food, poignant music and the occasional cosy fireplace.
However, he argued: "It's never a checklist - there are lots of ads that will tick all of those things off on a list, but they don't always get it right.
"It's not as simple as sticking on some jingle bells and a Santa hat - you've really got to have something that understands how to connect with people on an emotional level... and do it in an honest way... that people really see themselves in as well."
Hard Shoulder listeners highlighted a Guinness ad as one of their favourites - one that was made by BBDO nearly two decades ago now.
Neal observed: "It's a great example of the legacy effect - when you get something right. We've been running that since 2003... it's nearly 20 years old.
"The reason it keeps coming back is that on a simple level it's a postcard from St James's Gate to the four provinces.
"Its relatability is the thing that people coming back to it for.
"I'm always amazed when people say it's not really Christmas until the Guinness ad is on TV - and they're absolutely right, because it signals something that's deep within us and really, really important."
Neal said another ad they receive letters about every year is the long-running Barry's Tea radio spot about a man getting a train set for his kid.
He explained: "That's been on air since 1994. People write to us saying 'can I have a copy of it' or 'can I hear it again' as it cheers them up.
"It's engaging and it's resonant because the theatre of the mind is the thing that's being engaged with that."
