London – The festive season is very much in full swing, the Christmas trees have
been decorated, the lights switched on, and the fabulous holiday windows
have been revealed and the high street is hoping that they’ve come up with
the very best advertising campaign to drive footfall and increase sales.
Here at FashionUnited we are quite partial to a mince pie or two, so we
thought with less than a month to go until the big day that we would
round-up the very best Christmas advertising campaigns.
Make sure you vote on your favorite advert in the poll at the end of the article.
Described as an ‘antidote to the festive fuzzy’, House of Fraser has
gone for a music video-style ad for its campaign which made its debut on
social photo-sharing app Instagram, ahead of its big TV launch. Set to the
track ‘You Don’t Own Me’, the advert features an array of characters all
fashionably styled, dancing to a routine choreographed by the dancer behind
Justin Bieber’s latest video and directed by Ace Norton, who has recently
worked with Jennifer Lopez. Unlike other retailers who have opted for the
traditional heart-tugging formula, House of Fraser has placed its fashion
at the forefront of its Christmas 2015 campaign.
House of Fraser’s director of brand and creative, Tony Holdway,
said: “This time of year is all about inspiring our customers to curate
their own fashionable and bespoke Christmas, free from stress and brimming
with ideas and individuality.
“Challenging the norm is exactly what we’ve tried to capture in this
year’s multi-channel campaign and we hope it will encourage people to think
far more openly and creatively this festive season. I think it’s a campaign
like no other.”
Anticipation over John Lewis’ festive campaign is always high and this
year the department store hasn’t disappointed with its ‘Man on the Moon’
campaign featuring a heartwarming story of a young girl who sends a present
to a lonely old man on the moon. As well as showcasing the retailer’s
Christmas stock, the campaign has also teamed up with Age UK in an effort
to help raise awareness of the million older people who go a month without
speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member.
Craig Inglis, customer director at John Lewis explains: “Our Christmas
advert is once again all about going the extra mile to give someone the
perfect gift. This year, though, the story is told in a uniquely creative
and engaging way as we see Lily, our heroine, go to great lengths to
connect with the Man on the Moon.
“We hope it inspires people to find really special gifts for their loved
ones and through our partnership with Age UK, raises awareness of the issue
of loneliness amongst older people and encourages others to support in any
way they can.”
Department store chain Debenhams have continued with last year’s ‘Found
It’ theme and enlisted Dawn French, Sarah Millican and James Nesbit for an
injection of comedy for this Christmas advert. In 2014, the campaign saw
children running around Debenhams finding their favourite gifts, this year
it has shifted its focus to the emotion of the recipient to make the
campaign more personal. There are a number of different executions of the
ad as 10 and 20-second formats, ‘Found It For the fashionista’, ‘Found It
For the dancing queen’, ’Found It For the weekender’, and ‘Found It For the
littlest one’.
Richard Cristofoli, marketing director at Debenhams, said: “The ’Found
It’ campaign was designed to celebrate the moment of finding and receiving
the perfect gift from a loved one. It was created as a campaign idea that
would have longevity, not burn out after its first year.
“Feedback on our 2014 campaign was extremely positive and we are pleased
to return with an even stronger emotional connection this year.”
Have you ever received a Christmas present that you didn’t want or like?
Well, Harvey Nichols has used this as inspiration for its festive campaign
focusing on how to avoid what it is calling ‘gift face’. In the ad, a woman
is seen receiving a string of awful gifts from her family on Christmas Day,
and ends with a showcase of items including designer shoes that would have
avoided the dreaded ‘gift face’. The department store is also helping
customers on social media recognise #GiftFace and suggesting gift options
for this Christmas.
Following on from last year’s duet between Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett,
fashion retailer H&M has stuck with another pop-star for this year’s
Christmas campaign this time Katy Perry, who has written a new song, ‘Every
Day is a Holiday’ for the adverts. The #HappyandMerry campaign shows Perry
wearing a number of traditional Christmas outfits, including an ‘Elfie
Selfie’ jumper featuring just the body of an elf up to the neckline, while
appearing next to life-sized gingerbread men, oversized presents on roller
skates and giant teddy bears.
Luxury fashion house Burberry has recreated the opening scene of the
classic British film Billy Elliot for its Christmas advertising campaign
this year, featuring a star-studded cast including Elton John, who wrote
the Billy Elliot stage show music, Julie Walters, who starred in the film,
as well as some of its model favourites including Rosie
Huntington-Whiteley, Naomi Campaign and Romeo Beckham. Other British stars
include James Bay, George Ezra, Michelle Dockery and James Corden.
“Billy Elliot is an incredible film full of so much joy and energy, so
it was a real thrill and a great honour to be able to celebrate its 15 year
anniversary through our festive campaign,” said Christopher Bailey,
Burberry chief creative and chief executive officer. “It was also a huge
privilege to work with such amazing and iconic British talent – the cast
are quite simply some of the biggest names in film, music and fashion and
it was so much fun working with them all to make this special film.”
For Christmas 2015, Marks and Spencer has stepped away from one longer
Christmas advert that it has done in time past, for two festive twists on
its ‘The Art of…’ and ‘Adventures in…’ concepts, and continuing to step
away from tradition this year’s campaign was launched to its two million
Sparks club members, rather than on social or TV. ‘The Art of Christmas’
celebrates the moments that make up Christmas with a theatrical-style ad
using a remix of Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk, while the ‘Adventures in
Christmas’ focuses on the indulgent food the retailer is offering this
festive season.
Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Executive Director of Marketing &
International at M&S said; “Customers tell us they experience Christmas as
a series of mini-moments and emotions, and each moment matters in building
that bigger sense of occasion. As a result, our approach is more box-set
than blockbuster epic; as we wanted to capture that feeling of anticipation
and create an upbeat campaign that moves with the pace of the season and
shows how M&S can help make each moment special”
Possible the most controversial of the Christmas campaigns has to be
Mulberry, who have been inspired by the nativity Christmas story. The
tongue-in-cheek #MulberryMiracle shows a woman receiving a Mulberry bag,
followed by some unexpected visitors including the shepherds and kings who
drop by to see the gift, a red handbag.
American luxury accessories brand Coach has gone for a humorous take on
Christmas with its #GiveCoachOrElse campaign. In the brands debut holiday
film, it asks ‘are you naughty or nice?’, and shows Santa Claus relaxing in
the North Pole before being rudely and violently disturbed by an uninvited
guest. Before Santa can greet the woman, she hits him and then helps
herself to a Coach Swagger bag, and then changes Santa’s records from
naughty to nice.
Luxury e-tailers Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter have joined forces for their
first joint campaign for the festive period. Taking inspiration from the
world-class service for which both luxury brands are renowned, the short
festive film ‘All For You,’ takes viewers inside the imagined world of
Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter, where orders are selected by fashionably
dressed employees before being perfectly packaged and spritzed with perfume
before being sent out.
“Our first joint campaign, ‘All For You,’ highlights the year-round
mission of our businesses: to deliver exceptional service and style to our
customers around the globe, making Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter the ultimate
online destinations for luxury gifting this holiday season,” explains
Alison Loehnis, President of The Net-a-Porter Group.