Without giving away our ages, there was an era when Coca-Cola was the King of Christmas, and their 'holidays are coming' advert was the single most anticipated advert of the season. In fact, many of our generation used it as a benchmark, a countdown to the festive days, and many times we have heard something like 'It's not Christmas until we see the Coca-Cola Advert'.
The holidays are coming advert (which has run for nearly 85 years) features the iconic Santa Claus, the 'Holidays are Coming' theme tune and the red lorries covered in fairy lights (see below). The series has been so successful that it manifested in real life around the World, with lorries and tours appearing in the UK.
The pros of running the same advert year on year are the familiarity of the story and the sense of nostalgia it creates; how many can fail to relate to something they've known all their life - particularly when they come from pre-Generation Y. The downside? In a time when we consume significantly more content than ever before, does nostalgia stand up to unexpected suprises and touching stories? Can the old really beat the new and shiny?
We refer of course to the eagerly awaited John Lewis Advert; last year, they bought people to tears and ran apparantly their most commercially successful advert ever, with the animated 'Bear and Hare' advert featuring only one product of their whole range! It was raved about, complimented, and in most people's minds topped only by John Lewis' advert of the year before - The Snowman Journey.
This year, they've taken another new tack and produced #MontyThePenguin, a lovable toy penguin in need of a mate. The office couldn't wait to get their hands on it and as you will see from our blog post yesterday, most of us raved about it.
So, has John Lewis won gold again this year? It's actually a split opinion in the office, with half of us attempting not to cry, and the other half neatly identifying ourselves alongside Scrooge with our Bah Humbug attitude! Were we as touched as we were the first time John Lewis suprised us? Was it that perfect moment that caught all our imaginations? Probably not! The pros to this approach? A captivated audience who can't wait to see what you'll do next! The downside, a risk that your new characters might not be QUITE as good as last year and actually, your following don't have the same sense of loyalty when you change each year!
So, despite a slightly diminishing effectiveness, how has John Lewis fared compared to Coca-Cola? Well it seems to depend on which generation you speak to. Those of us who grew up and remember the days when TV only had four channels and the addition of Channel 5 was a revelation also probably fondly remember the icon that is the coca-cola advert (even if we didn't drink it); it was the highlight of the Christmas TV season and it appeared alongside the delights of a Christmas Carol etc. Turn instead to the slightly younger generation in our office and they feel little or no attachment to coca-cola, loving instead the fresh, engaging excitement of not knowing what's coming!
We started the debate in the office of whether John Lewis Christmas is the new Coca-Cola Christmas and to be honest, haven't drawn any concrete conclusions! They're different and that's a good thing, but secretly, I myself will always be aligned to Coca-Cola; the reliable, nostaligic feeling that feels less to do with sales and more simply to do with Christmas.
Coca-Cola: Holidays are coming...
John Lewis 2014; #MontyThePenguin
John Lewis 2012; The Journey
John Lewis 2013; The Bear and The Hare