Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
Kirsty Marshall, M·E·L Research’s lead on branding and communications offers her thoughts on this year’s major Christmas advertising campaigns.
With Christmas on the horizon, it is peak festive advertising time. There has definitely been a different feel from some of the offerings this year, with some clearly more conscious of the cost of living crisis and being sensitive to this, whilst others continuing along the normal ‘buy, be merry, look at all the food’ messaging.
We’ve seen from our latest Omnibus research, conducted in October 2022, that the cost of living is a worry for almost all in the UK, with 92% of those surveyed saying they are worried about the rising cost of living. Of those who are concerned, the impact on their finances was cited as the main worry they had (71% selected this option).
In this context, John Lewis is one of the advertisers that has showcased a different message this year, moving away from cute characters or kids of the past few years, deciding to show a cause they support as a business, using unknown actors to show a fostering journey in partnership with Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland, in their ad called The Beginner. The last time they showcased a charity partnership was in their 2015 advert, Man on the Moon with Age UK, so it’s not unknown territory, whilst continuing to pull on the heart strings like all their Christmas offerings tend to do.
They weren’t the only company to focus on family or community values, with M&S showing how they support community groups and good causes through the Neighbourly platform, and Boots focusing on bringing families together, a common theme of the last few Christmas ads they’ve released. Tesco also focused on the value for money aspect to bring the family together, understanding that times are tough but with them you can still have a great Christmas without spending too much. Aldi also showcased their support of families, with Kevin the Carrot being left home alone bringing some comedy to the advert, but having a strong charity message at the top and tail of the creative.
Offerings by companies such as Sainsburys feel like they miss the mark somewhat, showcasing an extravagant Christmas, with the Countess of Christmas threatening the Cook to create a different pudding ‘or else’, with a table showing a plethora of Christmas offerings, which will be hard to emulate for a lot of families this year. H&M, likewise, had more of a focus on buying outfits, with their holiday style just got magical ad. With 56% worrying about the cost of heating their home impacting their health, buying a sparkly dress is unlikely to be top of their priorities.
Only time will tell who sees the biggest impact on their brand and on their sales after the Christmas advertising this year. In a tougher retail market, who will come out on top? It will also be interesting to see if the brands that have shifted towards a more socially conscious messaging continue to do so in 2023.
Which Christmas ad did you like best and why?
If you have any branding or advertising messages you would like to test or track, or campaigns you would like to evaluate, please contact Kirsty Marshall.
M·E·L Research do not need a festive campaign to stress our commitment to social value. To see our annual social value report, click here.
A sample of 1,536 UK residents were surveyed online between 26th October to the 31st October 2022. Weights have been applied by UK nation, age, and gender to ensure that the data is representative
