The year's most important dates are also the moments when agencies and their clients unleash some creative glitter.
It's difficult to pin down exactly when festive advertising became a phenomenon. We do know that Santa Claus owes his red costume to a Coca-Cola illustration by Haddon Sundblom, way back in 1931 — although Santa had worn red before, he'd also been depicted in green, and was somewhat less rotund.
It's possible that Adam&EveDDB set the template for the Big Christmas Ad with its long-running series of TV spots for retailer John Lewis. There's certainly a formula: a sentimental story featuring children, animals, old folk, romantic encounters or a combination thereof, usually accompanied by a gentle song that brings a tear to your eye. Ads for the Spanish Lottery follow a similar pattern.
Our new Festive & Holidays category is inclusive: we certainly won't discount Ramadan, the Lunar New Year, Passover and so on; or indeed secular events like Mother's Day, Halloween and Valentine's Day. While festive or holiday-related advertising can be formulaic, campaigns with a touch of originality — or at least a high level of craft — could cut through with our jurors.
For instance, although the ad world was surprised when John Lewis moved its account to Saatchi & Saatchi, the brand's new agency kept standards high with this vibrant film about last-minute gift buying.
We already mentioned animals, so here are some loveable animated sheep for British outdoor wear brand Barbour, created by Aardman.
The Brits are kind of crazy about Christmas advertising — it's their Super Bowl — but this two-part campaign for retailer Waitrose, again from Saatchi & Saatchi, takes a new twist in the form of a whodunnit with some familiar faces.
There's so much Christmas advertising we could write about it all day, but let's turn our attention to Ramadan. In the next film, an invitation to the evening meal, Iftar, gets a little tricky for one poor fellow. The agency was Serviceplan Experience in Dubai.
Seems the convivial aspect of the celebration can cause problems, but Lipton and its agency Horizon FCB have generosity to spare.
Meanwhile, this Halloween spot for Tourism Ireland, from Publicis London, is packed with atmosphere and beautifully directed by Leonn Ward.
In Germany, supermarket Aldi and its agency Antoni made a touching tribute to parents for Mother's Day. Parenthood is hard, but at least you get unexpected snacks.
From Santa's sleigh to Ramadan tables, these campaigns showcase the cultural sensitivity, storytelling range and production polish that make festive storytelling sparkle. Entries with this mix of insight and craft are exactly what our Festive & Holidays category is designed to celebrate, so expect work of this calibre to delight our jurors.
