How to avoid samey, boring Christmas ads

Christmas ads are a bit like the Premier League. Outside the glory of the top four, it’s all a bit average. There’s a groaning buffet of predictable Christmas mediocrity that will have cost millions to make and months to create.

There is one question brands should be asking themselves when they open their filmic Christmas present: did you really get what you wanted? Was it beautifully chosen to match your individual personality, or was it pretty much the same as everyone else’s, and overpriced to boot?

Christmas ads: whose is best (and worst) so far this year?

If it falls short, it’s not the fault of the brand. The advertising system is as old as Santa. And the big old agencies don’t want it to change, because that’s how they like it.

Advertising is a multibillion-pound industry that’s still running on a broken business model created for the golden age of TV. It’s ego-driven and political, consumer opinion is suppressed at all costs and the focus on charging by the hour has made it good to be slow, as well as adding unnecessary layers of people. It’s just not fit for purpose anymore.

But there is something else brands can do to buy outstanding creative that actually works, quickly and effectively. Start questioning the old traditions and ask your agency to adapt. When you have your post-Christmas wrap-ups, think about putting some of these points to your agencies and seeing what they say. Or better still, make it a new year’s resolution to have a conversation with someone who has already transformed the way they work. Here are a few key points to think about:

Buy ideas, not hours

How long does it take to have a brilliant idea? Ideas don’t do timesheets – so why are brands being charged by the hour for them? When that system goes, it’s amazing how speed becomes your friend. And how many better ideas you get.

Put the consumer in the room

The current agency set-up is massively subjective. It usually boils down to agency vs marketeer – whose opinion counts more? Actually, believe in your research and do it as part of the process. At the Liberty Guild, as a matter of course we research twice within the creative process so we confidently know purchase intent score will be way above the norm.

Break geographies

The world is global and connected, yet agencies are only open to people and ethnicities who live within commuting distance of their city. Especially in a post-Covid world, this is truly narrow-minded and won’t deliver you the interesting, diverse work that gives you the standout you need. Ask them to broaden their talent footprint.

Trust in technology

When a tech stack takes the strain of an army of account and project managers, the efficiencies can get ploughed into the work. Agencies need to understand that technology can be a unifying force.

Thinking about these points chould help create something individual for Christmas – and avoid a repackaged, unwanted idea from the year before.

All the supermarket Christmas adverts 2021