Selling Christmas Worldwide

The past few days I shared ads from specific retailers, the last two day from UK retailers. Here are more ads, only one of which is a UK ad, and starting with two from New Zealand.

The Warehouse – New Zealand

The warehouse is part of The Warehouse Group, New Zealand’s largest retailer. Founded in 1982, and reportedly modelled on the USA’s Wal-Mart, it’s mainly a discount retailer, but has raised the quality of its products over the years.

For Christmas, the chain is running this ad, “Get That Christmas Feeling”:



They have another ad that asks customers, “What does Christmas feel like to you?” The people in the ad are very Kiwi, which is the main reason I’m including it.



Harrods – United Kingdom

This is actually an ad for a toy sold at Harrods (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrods), however, it’s still a cute video and tale. It also has some very specific British references (like “Father Christmas”, sometimes used here in New Zealand, too). The YouTube description sums up the ad:

“Opening the festive season is A Very British Bear Tale, the story of Hugh the snuggly bear, who gets trapped inside Harrods after a wicked elf turns the store into an ice palace. Only Hugh can save the day – with the help of two rather special friends from the North Pole. Discover the irresistible animation and shop Hugh the annual Christmas bear in-store and online alongside a host of perfect gifts for everyone on your list.”

Woolworths – Australia

This ad is “Street Party” for Australian supermarket chain Woolworths (which owns the Countdown chain here in New Zealand, using the same “W” logo for both). It looks like a fun street party. The ad ends with the written tagline, “We love Christmas as much as you do”, which apparently is why the actress says, “That’s why we pick Woolie’s for Christmas”. But if one doesn’t read the tagline, the spoken line makes no sense, like she was saying it because that was the only store that sold Christmas lights or something.



Apple – USA

This ad from Apple, “Frankie’s Holiday”, isn’t specific to any country, and could play nearly anywhere, but the message is particularly resonant for the USA. The YouTube description accurately and simply sums up the ad: “An unexpected holiday visitor finally receives the warm welcome he’s always yearned for.” The ad’s tagline is, “Open your heart to everyone”, so, of course, Apple had no recourse in this age of mean: “Comments are disabled for this video,” it says on the YouTube post. The ad is kind of sweet, barely has any product placement, and sends a message that needs to be heard, one even more important in the aftermath of the USA’s recent election.



Allegro – Poland

And finally, an ad from Poland, “Czego szukasz w Święta?”, which roughly translates as, “What do you want for Christmas? | English for beginners” It’s for an online auction service, and it’s about, as the description—again roughly translated— says: “Sometimes words fail to express what is most important. In this case, you need them just to learn.”



Mashable, where I first saw this ad, also talks about what makes a good Christmas ad. All of the ads I’ve shared have most of those elements. And that’s why I’ve shared them all.