{"id":12589,"date":"2019-12-20T18:04:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T18:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/?p=12589"},"modified":"2019-12-20T18:05:26","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T18:05:26","slug":"christmas2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/christmas2019\/","title":{"rendered":"The ghost of Christmas ads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>As the season of goodwill draws every nearer, our Account Executive Douwi Stewart decided to spend a little bit of time exploring the spirit of Christmas past, present and future and how the humble Christmas ad has evolved to become a key element of some major seasonal PR campaigns. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"877\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-1024x877.jpg\" alt=\"Douwi Stewart\" class=\"wp-image-12592 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-1024x877.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-1536x1316.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-2048x1754.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-768x658.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-600x514.jpg 600w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/877;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"877\" src=\"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-1024x877.jpg\" alt=\"Douwi Stewart\" class=\"wp-image-12592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-1024x877.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-1536x1316.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-2048x1754.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-768x658.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Douwi-600x514.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Cannon PR&#8217;s Account Executive Douwi Stewart delves into the world of Christmas marketing campaigns.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Christmas. It\u2019s that time of year for giving, spreading\nfestive cheer, and of course spending time with loved ones. It\u2019s perhaps no\nsurprise that for many businesses, it\u2019s also a time which coincides with some\nof the most colourful marketing and communications campaigns of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The famous 18 wheel Coca-Cola truck has become just as\nsynonymous with the festive period as a Christmas cracker, and the drinks\ngiant\u2019s ad campaigns of the 1930s even proved to be instrumental permanently\nassociating jolly man and his red coat with Father Christmas in the minds of\nchildren across the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From a communications perspective, one thing I always look out for are the Christmas ads \u2013 many of which go above and beyond the call of duty to spread the seasonal message of goodwill. I\u2019ve grown up with Christmas ads.  I was just a year old when the now infamous Coca Cola truck first rolled into ad land, creating with it plenty of positive PR opportunities for the brand as it heads around the UK. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, Coca Cola doesn\u2019t have the monopoly on Christmas\nadvertising. A quick YouTube search will reveal a plethora of ads from the\nsublime to the ridiculous spanning through the decades, but the coca cola truck\nhas continued to roll onto our screens for over 15 years\u2026the uncontested signal\nfor Christmas to being\u2026 that is, until John Lewis raised the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Lewis cemented its place into festive folklore after\nmaking the shift away from product-focussed ads to capturing the seasonal\nspirit \u2013 each year their offerings becoming more grand, and resembling mini\nblockbusters in their own right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These ads proved to be a game changer, and with it other major retailers made their own attempts to capture the hearts and minds of the public \u2013 and with it the ads themselves become a focal point for discussions, debated in the media and of course plenty of people taking to social media channels to share their opinion. In other words, these Christmas ads have become the lynch-pin of  some successful festive PR campaigns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s perhaps unsurprising that John Lewis\u2019 success has transformed the way we think about Christmas ads, with many of the UK\u2019s best known brands all attempting to cash in on the golden PR opportunities associated with the festive period. Sainsbury\u2019s, M&amp;S, Boots, and many others followed the path carved out by John Lewis, each one in the hope of achieving its own winter marketing miracle. Between 2010 and 2017 Christmas advertising spend rose by 37% and many have succeeded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Casting my crystal ball into the future, what will the festive ads of tomorrow bring with them? Last year\u2019s effort by Iceland was quickly added to the naughty list and banned on the grounds that it was too political. But perhaps it offers some insight into how the world of advertising is changing and evolving &#8211; often being underpinned by highly effective communication techniques which embrace both traditional media, whilst embracing social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite having never been screened on TV Iceland\u2019s decision to draw attention to the use of palm oil captured hearts and minds, becoming an internet sensation overnight may offer some insight, with the company\u2019s associated PR strategy ensuring the ad generated a significant amount media attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, will the families of tomorrow continue to gather around the gogglebox and pause to reflect on the latest festive advert offerings? The first ads will continue to appear earlier and earlier each year, signalling the beginning of the festive season, but in the cacophony of noise being generated through brands all vying for your attention, perhaps simplicity may be the order of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coca-Cola no longer single-handedly owns the Christmas crown of advertising. But just like Wham!, Mariah Carey, Rudolf, Home Alone and the Jools Holland festive special, Christmas ads, including the annual appearance of the big red truck rolling somewhere into a town near you, look set to remain a fundamental fixture of our festive viewing. And long may it continue. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The humble Christmas ad has evolved to become a key element of some major seasonal PR campaigns. But what will the future bring?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[103,13,18],"class_list":["post-12589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-christmas","tag-marketing","tag-pr"],"aioseo_notices":[],"spectra_custom_meta":{"_edit_lock":["1576865474:1"],"_edit_last":["1"],"_ebor_page_title_layout":["left-short-grey"],"_thumbnail_id":["12591"],"_wp_old_slug":["12589-2"],"_aioseop_description":["Christmas ads act as focal points for major festive marketing campaigns, with PR playing a key role.  In a changing media landscape, what will the future bring?"],"_aioseop_title":["The ghost of Christmas ads"],"_uag_css_file_name":["uag-css-12589.css"]},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/xmas-2928142_1280.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/xmas-2928142_1280-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/xmas-2928142_1280-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/xmas-2928142_1280-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/xmas-2928142_1280-1024x682.jpg",1024,682,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/xmas-2928142_1280.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/xmas-2928142_1280.jpg",1280,853,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Matthew Ridsdale","author_link":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/author\/ridsdalem\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The humble Christmas ad has evolved to become a key element of some major seasonal PR campaigns. But what will the future bring?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12589"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12599,"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12589\/revisions\/12599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannonpr.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}