The Supermarkets Advert Race for Christmas #1

I still haven't seen any of the TV Christmas ads and I more or less completed my Christmas shopping before Black Friday. One of the advantages of country living is that I only go shopping once a week to the supermarket in my local small town so the tide of commercialism that is supposed to surround Christmas never reaches me.

I actually think that Christmas is as commercial or as uncommercial as you choose to make it. If you are not into competitive or frenzied gift giving and catering then you are no more likely to respond Christmas commercialism and hype than one is likely to go from total boredom with football to total involvement just because you saw the advertising surrounding the world cup.

I once or twice became so fed up with commercialism at Christmas that I decided to up sticks with the family and I naively felt that a Muslim country would not celebrate Christmas. How wrong I was? In Marrakesh the hotel was festooned with lights and with the French connection celebrated on Christmas Eve. It was still Ramadan so on trips out we came across many surly presumably hungry people who disliked any refusal not to enter their shop or buy their stuff. The next time I booked aNile Cruise thinking combining culture with austerity. Then there was the horrible massacre at Hatshepsut 's temple and the British Gov said don't go so we went to Jordan and the was the worlds most un Father Christmassy FC and a cabaret of wailing undulating women. We did have a totally magical Christmas Eve in a Bedouin tent purely by accident which redeemed it all. So now I'm happy with the ads when I see how others torture the meaning of
Christmas.

WOW! Thank you all for your contributions I'd forgotten about the post, (having been ill, lame excuse I know)
but I really appreciate your input, Iam64 et al, especially PRINTMISS for considering the employment of others in these austere times.

But alas Black Friday really does go to show how sheeplike humans are when it comes to the commercialisation of Christmas, I was disgusted by the scenes across the news and we discussed it on our show Nana's Natter -you can listen to it here:

www.podcasts.canstream.co.uk/manchesterfm/index.php?page=2

just scroll down to the first and second hours, we will be revisiting commercialisation and how to combat it on Friday 5th Dec and your views will be most welcome.

Also, as well as giving Sainsbury's a lot of advertising as people discuss their ad, it's giving the RBL lots of air time as well. Given the number of former service personnel living with ptsd, alcoholism, homelessness etc, it seems good to keep their needs in the public eye.

Very good point, PRINTMISS.
The film in the Sainsbury's ad is very effective but, as part of the effort to get people to spend money at Sainsbury's, it seems a bit tacky.
Still, at least some money will go to the RBL thru sales of chocolate, and I guess the RBL didn't have to pay for making the film, so maybe they are actually quids in on it.

I am overwhelmed, thank you!

so do I printmiss

I like your style, PRINTMISS!

You always have a good point PRINTMISS and the sometimes rare gift of seeing both sides.

Look at it this way, we have masses of unwanted advertising material posted through our letter-box nearly every day. A nuisance, yes, BUT each piece of advertising needed someone to design it, it then needed to be printed, then delivered, and ultimately trashed. All those people being employed! Similar thing with television advertising, lots go into producing these things, some folk watch, some don't, and it is eventually disposed of. Kept people employed though, and caused a talking point.

that's the spirit FlicketyB

Haven't seen any of the Christmas ads, most of the Christmas provender has been made at home or ordered through local farm shops. The cards and some of the presents come from charities. the rest of the presents will be bought on suggestions from recipients and their parents.

Let them advertise, my Christmas buying decisions have been made!

I did watch a meerkat one eventually last year as so many people talked about it.
Couldnt tell you what they actually advertise.
Home insurance?

Havent seen any christmas ads except for the penguin one[because there was a thread on gransnet about it, so I purposely told people in the house to shout out when they saw it so I could come and have a look], an aldi one [which I saw briefly as it looked mildly interesting as it dispayed what it sells], and a bit of Iceland because it is all across the Im a Celebrity, so I may as well see it properly then can whizz.

Havent seen any of the others, I always whizz through them on top speed.

Cant stand adverts.
I normally watch 4 a year properly.

Same here anno - ads made no difference, I shop in places that sell the things I want to buy and where the staff are helpful and friendly. Oh yes, and the fish counter is clean and doesn't stink

The ads make no difference to my shopping choices - the M&S one would send me running for the hills, but I guess that what they're after is more subtle: they want to embed the brand in our minds, reinforce their position as household names and ensure that they are the first ones we think of when we need to shop. The ads prompt a cynical yawn response in me

For me, shopping is about convenience nowadays. I could go to Sainsbury's if the ad inspired me to do so, but that would mean a three mile trip; I could go to Tesco, but the distance is about the same. Likewise Aldi; John Lewis a bit further. Waitrose and Morrisons are close at hand. Other shopping can be done on line. Christmas advertisements? Completely irrelevant.

I don't claim to know much about advertising but I guess it's supposed to work something like this:

"That Sainsburys advert gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling as well as appealing to my emotions about the tragedy of the First World War, and that chocolate wrapper is very attractive and nostalgic AND some of the profits will go to a good cause so I will pop in to Sainsburys and buy a few as stocking fillers, and while I'm there I'll buy a few more things from their nostalgia range, and while I'm at it I may as well get a few more bits and perhaps do some of my Christmas shopping there and so on and so on."

I have watched the advert again and still find that whilst it is beautifully filmed, it leaves a very nasty taste in my mouth. I believe the ASA has received a number of complaints about it.

I suppose these ads must have some effect on sales but none of them would actually make me go or change to any particular super market or shop.

Yeah. Perhaps you're right Iamsixty. I still can't see why they need to hark back to miserable times for a Xmas ad. Can't we just be happy at Christmas?The ad is gloomy.

Valbeasixties - thanks for your post

Yes, Christmas is commercialised but so is everything else it seems, we'll have easter eggs in the shops as soon as the January sales are over. I don't think advertisements encourage me to spend in one store rather than another.

I'm getting just a bit fed up with all the Bah Humbug complaints about Christmas in general. As for the retailers and their Christmas advertisements, I can't get het up about the moral rights or wrongs of the Sainsbury's advertisement. Retailers want to make money (surprise) Every time I see it, I feel myself transported back to childhood or teenage years, with my 2 grandfather's. Both fought in WW1 and neither glorified anything about it. What they both talked about was the similarities between the opposing sides. "lads, just like us" was their mantra. That's what the Sainsbury's ad brings to my heart and mind. 50p to the RBL is better than nothing to the RBL - sorry, I can't get wound up about this, especially in the context of current wars and conflicts.

Yes, it does seem to have become quite a competition this year with trailers posted everywhere. And yes, of course, I am totally aware of the commercialism as most people would be. And, no, it won't make any difference to where I choose to do my Christmas shopping.

But they do bring a tear to my eye or a smile to my face and remind me that Christmas is coming.

And .... I do so enjoy watching them.

As an M&S pensioner I feel I should make an effort and watch their ad ( I keep skimming past it on recorded stuff) but I don't imagine it will make any difference to my Christmas shopping.

Oh - I don't know what to say. Deep down I feel there is something truly sick about using this in an advert.

Well said d4dsquared! Do they really think we are that naive?