During the xmas season, advertisers bombard us with their ads. One even more elaborate than the other, no money spared; everyone goes all in for that coveted prize of who makes the best. From flesh-eating plants by John Lewis, stop motion animation by Apple, to a myriad of Santas by Coke, it’s all there. Lots of times it ends with people eating together at a Hallmark card lit dining table.

Cause there are prizes to be won. Who is the best at it this year? Who wins an award at Cannes for this high budget contraption? Fame and glory for the marketer and the agency that worked on it. And then January hits you like a ton of bricks. Life goes on and the award starts catching dust until it’s ultimately moved into a cupboard next to other awards grabbed along the years.

Obviously it’s not about the awards. Cause it should actually be to make an impact with your customers. Preferably on a brand level. Lots of debate spiked around the Amazon xmas ad (which I kinda liked honestly) that according to the brand study did extremely well on lots of key metrics. But it maybe doesn’t win a prize as hordes of people didn’t deem it very creative. I wonder how this one stacks up versus the praised Apple one, which aside from the great stop motion usage I thought was pretty standard in storytelling – it even ends with two people eating together.

I once saw a brief passing by which actually stated that next to the delivery of a 90 sec version and a 60 sec one, it should also be a Cannes contender. Quite clear what the marketer in this case had in mind for themselves. Not sure if that delivers the best bang for your buck, aside from the huge pressure on an agency. It’s amazing what ideas are produced to fuel that xmas feeling and how some are almost expected treats (Lewis, Coke) each year. But I do hope they’re all briefed to create standout ads that amaze viewers, not just the jury panel in Cannes.