Christmas is the one time of year that I
actually love watching commercials.
I almost begrudge our TIVO, which the other 11 months of the year saves
us from a boring litany of car advertisements, but in December potentially blocks
all of the delightful holiday ads that I so enjoy.
Rest assured, I’ve managed to absorb many a
Christmas commercial this holiday season (via YouTube, the TVs at our gym, and a live viewing of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade).
Here’s a roundup of some new and old favorites.
It seems that British department store John
Lewis is determined to make everyone sob around Christmas. Last year I was obsessed with their “The
Bear & the Hare” animated sobfest. Though I'm not as crazy about the song choice, this year they once again bring out
the big guns of cutsey animals, sentimentality and pop music. This ad just kills me—KILLS me—in all
the right ways. Especially that
twist ending.
This season I've always really enjoyed Target's latest holiday offering, set to the delightful song "It's A Marshmallow World." I'm a sucker for anything even remotely Alice in Wonderland-related, and this is a delightful mashup of Alice, Christmas, and some childhood icons in the form of Barbie and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Speaking of childhood icons, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this Honda ad over the aforementioned Thanksgiving break. It's a clever preying-upon of 80s nostalgia-- and a somewhat depressing revelation that my age bracket is now Honda's chief demographic. I would have preferred She-Ra or even Mumm-Ra from Thundercats, but this ad makes great use of Skeletor's signature screech.
Finally, let's watch a couple of "retro" Christmas commercials from that magical period of time known as the 1990s. I became very interested in actress-singer Lena Horne this past year after watching a rerun of A Different World in which she guest starred. Some googling led me to this Gap Christmas commercial that Ms. Horne did back in ye olde 1997. I appreciate the stripped-down aesthetic, neutral color tone and jazzy beat that nevertheless still conveys the holiday spirit:
Finally, another favorite of mine has always been this Campbell's soup ad, which must be popular because it ran during December for years. It's cutesy-cozy in the best way, and despite the slightly creepy look the kid gives at the end, if you're not craving chicken noodle soup by the end of it I question your humanity (or at least your appetite):
We've really covered the Christmas commercial bases here, from lovesick penguins to emaciated evil warlords, so I think it's time now to return to our regularly scheduled programming. But before you reach for your DVR remote to zip past the commercials this December, maybe take a moment and actually watch a few. You may be pleasantly surprised!
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