Other ads started (very) slowly popping up, but there have been very few ads specifically for Christmas, and several that are (more or less…) haven’t been uploaded to YouTube, at least not yet. The key thing is that the ads must be on the company’s official website, because I learned when I made 2022’s playlist that ads that aren’t posted to official YouTube Channels are more likely be deleted (that happened to ad number 7 that year). However, even official videos can be removed or made private (as happened to Number 2 on last year’s playlist). Whenever an ad is removed/unlisted, I have to remove it from the playlist or the playback of the playlist will stop when it gets to that point, which I think is pretty dumb, actually. In any case, I just delete the removed ad from the playlist and it plays normally—and I don’t get the big black “Video unavailable” box where a video once was, as happened frequently when I used to post individual ads. Sure, playlists are a bit more work, and sometimes, like this year, posting a playlist may be delayed while I wait for ads to be posted on official YouTube channels (if they are…), but despite all that, I still think it’s the best option.
As always, I compiled this year’s Christmas ad playlist in the order that I first saw the ads on TV, and if any of the other ads posted later on, I’ll add them to the playlist and the descriptions below. And, of course, if any are deleted, I’ll update the playlist and this post.
The criteria: Ads must must be airing on New Zealand television (not merely online or on social media or whatever). Second, they have to be New Zealand companies, or companies that are connected to New Zealand. This is because international ads might be seen in many countries, though our ads aren’t necessarily seen elsewhere. Finally, as I said, the ads must be on an official YouTube Channel, not one belonging to third parties.
A warning: Just like in past years, the annotations below include spoilers, which I mention in case you want to watch the videos first. All that out of the way, here’s a bit more about the videos, all of which are, as I said, in the order I first saw them on TV:
1. “Give a Gift That Unleashes Theirs | Spark Christmas 2024” – Spark NZ. This ad is for Spark NZ, one of the largest mobile phone (etc…) companies in New Zealand. When I first saw this ad around October 25 (!), I didn’t realise it was a Christmas ad. I was making dinner, and that's a time I don’t pay close attention to ads if I see them at all: Many nights I only hear ads because I’m busy in the kitchen. I suppose I should’ve realised what it was right away, since the first scene has a woman wrapping a present, but the surreal animation (which reminded me of the work of artist Peter Max) kind of threw me off—until I actually paid attention to the ad. This ad is much more subtle than other Christmas ads from the company, but I kind of like the laid-back vibe. [Full disclosure: At the moment, I’m a Spark NZ customer.]
2. “New World Christmas 2024 - 30” – New World. This ad is one of my two favourite Christmas ads this year. New World is owned by one of two supermarket companies in New Zealand, and the only one that’s New Zealand-owned (each store is individually owned, and together they’re part of a cooperative). This year’s ad is part of their “find your wonderful” series of ads, and I think it hits all the right emotions for Christmas, and is a truly heartwarming ad. I think it works especially well because it’s not centred on folks shopping in their supermarket, but instead focuses on the human connection to the food (and each other) that the supermarket helps facilitate. It creates subtle positive vibes about New World without smacking viewers in the face with “Buy! Buy! Buy!” messaging, and this year's approach is actually more likely to make viewers feel good about shopping there because who doesn’t want to feel a connection with our loved ones? A very well done ad.
A bit of trivia: The theme song used ad series (that’s played in the background in part of the ad), is sung by a young woman who actually worked at New World and was picked when the company was looking for a singer to record the song. [Full disclosure: I shop at both New World and Australian-owned Woolworths.]
3. “Feels like Christmas at Woolworths” – Woolworths NZ. This is an ad for Australian-owned supermarket chain Woolworths (formerly called Countdown in New Zealand, but since rebranded to match the branding in Australia). This ad is part of their “Fresh food feeling” series of ads, many of which highlight New Zealand farm-grown produce sold by Woolworths, and the centring of this ad on a farm is in keeping with that, as is the shot of a Woolworths truck leaving the farm. However, the down-home wholesome family farm feeling is a slight departure for the company’s ads—and I think it’s extremely well done. The ad is cute, reinforces the other ads in the series, and in particular the “Fresh food feeling” message. Most import for a Christmas ad, it has an actual connection to the holiday, one that’s appropriate for the business Countdown is in. What I said about New World’s Christmas ad (Second on this year’s list), is equally true about this ad, that it’s “not centred on folks shopping in their supermarket, but instead focuses on the human connection to the food (and each other) that the supermarket helps facilitate.” All of which is why this is my other favourite for this year. [Full disclosure: I shop at both Woolworths and New Zealand-owned New World.]
A bit of trivia: The central North Island town of Ohakune is known colloquially as “the carrot capital of New Zealand”, and the town features a giant carrot, which, the Wikipedia article on the town says, “is reputedly the world's largest model carrot”. When I think of carrots, I really do associate them with Ohakune.
4. “Let the Magic Find You This Christmas #AirNZXmas” – Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand starts their Christmas TV advertising a little later than many others (usually somewhere around the beginning of December), and that’s fine with me! This year’s ad is more focused on the airline as an airline than some other years have been, and I think the surreal magic taking place aboard the plane is, well, magical—as a good Christmas should be. I bet “certain people” will be saying “Bah! Humbug!” when they see the Christmas ornament emblazoned with “Meri Kirihimete”, but one can hope that their grinchy hearts might grow three sizes (metaphorically speaking) that day, and that they can, ya know, get over it.
This isn’t exactly trivia, but a bit of a fact check for other kinds of “certain people”. The kid's seat back screen shows that the magical flight is from San Francisco to Auckland, and the date of arrival is listed as “Dec 26”, which is why the mother says to the son, “I promise we won’t miss Christmas next year,” and the flight attendant sees the sad boy, and the cabin crew launches into magic making—with all of them waiting until it officially becomes December 25 on board, meaning the plane took off on December 24. So, they lost a day? YES! It happened to me: When I flew to New Zealand to live, I took off on October 31, 1995 and arrived on November 2, 1995—I had NO November 1, 1995 (something I wrote about back in 2012). So, while the ad depicts a magical trip, that doesn’t include magically altering time. However, people doubting that the passengers would ever all be asleep at the same time do have a point—it’s magic!
Some possible trivia: In the past, Air New Zealand always used actual employees in ads and safety videos. I don’t know if that’s true for this ad, but I think it’s kind of nice to think it might be. [Full disclosure: I personally prefer to fly Air New Zealand over any other airline.]
🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻 🎅🏻
As always, there are more NZ Christmas ads I’ve seen on TV, but they're not on the retailers’ official YouTube Channels. Among those ads is one for The Warehouse that’s a Christmas instalment in their current series of odd ads that show a family doing autotuned singing of new lyrics to Lou Bega’s 1999 global Number One hit, “Mambo No. 5 (A Little bit of…)” [WATCH/LISTEN] as they shop in store, filling the trolley to overflowing. I can’t recall seeing any Christmas ads for Michael Hill Jeweller this year, and most other retailers’ ads are just promotions for specific products on special, much as they might run for any special promotion tied to any holiday. If any of those ads were online, they might create a dilemma for me, because they’re not Christmas ads as such. Maybe I need to tighten my criteria?
At any rate, these are the only ads available at the moment, though if more NZ Christmas TV ads do become available on an official YouTube Channel I’ll (probably?) add the videos to the Playlist and annotations to this post, and then post an announcement on the blog that the playlist is updated. However, you can also follow the direct link the YouTube Playlist if you’d rather skip my comments, or even just to share the playlist.
In any event. Merry watching-mas!
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