When the weather outside is frightful, so are the ads on TV.
Seriously. What is it about advertising during this time of year? Does a layer of frost somehow coat the cogs of creativity, stopping people from producing anything that doesn’t fit the formula?
While normally brands spend most of their time trying to sell more products or make more profit, it seems that during Christmas, a whole ‘nother metric is thrown into the mix. It’s not ROI or CPI… It’s TPA. Yes. In order to be top dawg during Christmas time, all that really seems to matter is how many Tears Per Ad you manage to get.
Sure, these commercials can be heartwarming, moving and nostalgic, but they’re also incredibly predictable and formulaic. If you haven’t seen De Speld’s breakdown of typical Christmas advertisements yet, be sure to check it out. It really shows the absurdity of Christmas advertising. In a field where we all pride ourselves on our creativity, for some reason we suddenly all jump on the same formula during the holiday season.
Now here’s the thing: there are very good ads using this formula.
These emotional stories work. They make you feel things. But every year, the same thing happens: A few of these really hit the mark, and then some others just… fall short. They’re not bad ads per se (with exceptions, of course), but they just don’t compare to the crème de la crème of that year. And because they all follow the same formula, it’s very easy to make direct comparisons. You can literally go scene by scene and see where Brand A did it better than Brand B.
Why take this risk?
Instead of trying to do what everyone else does, but better, you could step out of this formula and create something truly different. And to do that, there is only one thing you need to do differently…
You need to tell the truth.
Because let’s face it: these cookie cutter ads show a romanticized version of “the ideal Christmas”. And by doing this, they leave out all the magic that comes from the imperfections.
“Remember ‘09, when mom burnt the chicken and we had to order pizza?”
“Remember when uncle Joe had a few too many to drink and started talking about politics?”
“Remember when Anna knocked over a candle and set the tablecloth on fire?”
These are the memorable moments that stick with you. These are the stories retold year after year.
And that’s what an ad is. A story. You can create a memorable Christmas ad that doesn’t end with “the family gets together and they love each other very much”. Because if those Christmases aren’t memorable, why would the ads be?
Take your creative thinking a step further and find the real human truths surrounding the holiday season. There’s more magic to Christmas. It’s up to you to find it.
Role: Creative Trainee
Agency: Dept®
Website/Portfolio: www.michaelboersma.org
