Promotional Gifts & Items: Has Christmas Started Too Early For Marketers in 2017?

It has come to that time of the year, Christmas advert time! The festive TV advertisements have all pretty much arrived earlier than we expected. Several brands like John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, and Sainsbury’s have already kicked off their TV adverts in the first week of November.

These usual big players are even joined by other retailers including Asda, Argos, Lidl, Aldi, McDonald’s, Tesco, Coca Cola and more. All of them have also released their Christmas ads a few days early before the happiest time of the year.

In case you haven’t watched their Christmas ad campaigns, we’ve cherry-picked three ads that we find incredibly interesting.

1. John Lewis

John Lewis is a veteran when it comes to Christmas campaigns. The high-end department store first debuted its annual festive ad at 8am on Friday the 10^th of November. Unsurprisingly, the advert warmed the hearts of many viewers.

The brand’s advert tells a tale of a little boy, Joe, who can’t get a good night’s sleep. He discovered a strange creature—Moz—under his bed and befriended it. The two enjoy each other’s company and play together at night.

On Christmas Day, Joe received a night light without knowing it was from Moz. It seems like Moz knows how his friend will enjoy a good night sleep.

2. Aldi

Aldi, a global discount supermarket, also launched a remarkable ad campaign for 2017. And just like last year, Kevin the carrot successfully charmed the mass. This year’s storyline is fascinating because our favourite carrot finds love on a luxury train.

The love encounter started when Kevin fell off from a snowman and stumbled upon a train. He climbed on a long dining table and there he saw his love interest—Katie. The timing was perfect because Kevin acted like a hero after saving Katie from an oncoming pea.

This Christmas ad turned love story aired on Tuesday, November 7.

3. Boots

Holiday promotional videos tend to be cute, jolly and fun in them, but not for Boots. The health and beauty retailer chose to focus more on meaningful gifting. And as expected, its advert gave consumers a very festive feel.

The Christmas commercial dropped online the same day as John Lewis. It featured two sisters and their bond through the years. They gave each other generous Christmas gifts, with one of the sisters jokingly said “I got the other vouchers.”

It then ends with the tagline #ShowThemYouKnowThem.

Is November too early for Christmas Adverts?

Despite the early launch of Christmas ads, some experts still question if it’s really okay to release promotional campaigns in the month of November. There’s actually contradicting opinions regarding this matter.

Attest Market and Brand Intelligence showed in its poll that 48% of people are planning to purchase Christmas gifts in the first two weeks of December. Only small percentage of research participants said that they have done it already or they’re planning to do it in a rush.

This suggests that christmas ad promotions in the month of December are more likely to stand out in people’s mind since it’s the most recent. As a matter of fact, other companies like Co-op agree to this research finding.

The supermarket and convenience store network refused to join the November race and delayed the launch of its festive ad. “It’s really hard to stand out when everybody is running a campaign around yours,” said Amanda Jennings, Co-op’s Marketing Communications Director.

However, a US study takes the opposite side. It showed that most people make better purchasing decisions if they don’t shop at the last minute. This is what propels several popular brands in releasing their ads as early as November.

So whether you release your Christmas advert a little advance or not, there will still be underlying consequences. What you really need to do is ensure that your ad touches consumers’ experience of discovering new ideas and purchasing gifts.

The Takeaway

Holiday promotional videos stimulate consumer’s attention. They have the knack to establish connections regardless of how early or how on time they’re released.

Need assistance with your video marketing strategy. Logo X is here to help you! We don’t only specialise in producing promotional products, but we also do video production and video marketing.

To learn more about this, speak with a Logo X associate at 0207 101 0722 or 0161 875 2500 today.