It’s the most wonderful time of the year and that means (mostly) British holiday ads!

We’ll be honest, holiday ads are a little outside of Daily Brief’s typical entertainment marketing purview, but we love them so much we write about them every year.

So without further ado, we present our favorite holiday spots of 2019.

1. Apple: Holiday - The Surprise

In this emotional spot, a harried mom just wants her daughters to leave her grieving dad in peace, until they finally show her just what they’ve been up to. We defy you to watch this and not tear up.

READ MORE: Adage

CREDITS

Client: Apple

Creative agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab

Director: Mark Molloy, Smuggler

2. John Lewis/Waitrose: Edgar the Excitable Dragon

British retailer John Lewis is considered the holiday spot-maker to beat when it comes to Christmas ads, but this year the company nailed it again with this delightful spot featuring Edgar the Excitable Dragon. He can’t help it if he just loves Christmas.

The fairy-tale inspired spot is set to a cover of REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling” by Bastille’s Dan Smith.

READ MORE: The Drum

CREDITS

Client: John Lewis, Waitrose

Agency: Adam&Eve/DDB

Director: Dougal Wilson

3. Argos: Christmas Advert 2019

This spot dropped early, Nov. 1, and quickly earned a lot of buzz. In it, a man sees that his daughter has circled a drum set in an Argos catalog and it quickly takes him back to his own dreams of being a drummer. It’s set to Simple Minds’ timeless “Don’t You Forget About Me.”

The spot stars prodigy drummer Nandy Bushnell, who visited syndicated talk show Ellen DeGeneres in December and appeared in last year’s John Lewis and Waitrose’s Bohemian Rhapsody, spot which was released in September 2018.

4. Sainsbury’s: Nicholas Sweep

British retailer Sainsbury’s came up with this delightful retelling of Santa’s origin story.

READ MORE: The Drum

CREDITS

Client: Sainsbury’s

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy

5. Tesco: Delivering Christmas

A Tesco delivery man takes a tour of the past 100 years while on his typical route during the holidays.

READ MORE: The Drum

CREDITS

Client: Tesco

Agency: BBH London

6. McDonald’s: Reindeer Ready

A little girl makes the best of it when her big sister thinks she’s too old to still “play reindeers.”

READ MORE: The Drum

CREDITS

Client: McDonald’s

Agency: Leo Burnett

7. Chick-Fil-A: The Time Shop

Sticking with a prevalent theme this year of little girls, boys and dragons who can’t find people to play with them, this spot shows a discouraged little girl who discovers how she can give the gift of time to her busy family.

8. Gap: The Hoodie

A mom remembers her son’s favorite pieces of clothing after he grows up and forgets about it.

CREDITS

Agency: Johannes Leonardo

Production Company: Park Pictures

Directed by: AG Rojas

Executive Producers: Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Dinah Rodriguez

Producer: Pete Vitale

Director of Photography: Alexis Zabe

Art Director: Chris Jones

READ MORE: The Drum

9. Amazon: Everybody Needs Someone to Love

Amazon’s singing gift boxes are back and this year, they are singing to Solomon Burke’s classic “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.”

The spot is created by London-based creative agency Lucky General. It debuted during Sunday Night Football and has extended out to traditional media, as well as online, digital, radio, print, out-of-home and social.

READ MORE: The Drum

CREDITS

Creative Agency: Lucky Generals

Director: Henry Alex Rubin

Production Company: Smuggler

Editors: The Quarry

Post Production: The Mill

Music: Sound Tree

SFX Post : 750mph

10. BBC One: Xmas Life

Graham Norton and friends remind us of all the wonderful things about the holiday season in this holiday brand spot for BBC One.

RELATED: Graham Norton Extols Virtues of #XmasLife in BBC One Campaign

CREDITS

Client: BBC One

Agency: BBC Creative

Tags: 12 days of promax holidays 2019


  Save as PDF