Five of the best Christmas adverts so far

And it was Christmas!

Its that time of the year again. Where we all get hyped for the holidays next month. Part of that is due to the shops showing their adverts on TV. They always go above and beyond to get people to buy their stock. Here are our top five so far.

5. John Lewis: Buster the Boxer

John Lewis has had the reputation of making heart-warming Christmas adverts. In 2014, we had the one with the boy and his penguin, and last year we had the one with the old man on the moon. This year… we have a dog on a trampoline…. Yeah, it’s understandable why this has disappointed a lot of people.

So, to go into more detail on the narrative, here’s what happens. It begins with a shot of the dog watching his owner bounce on her bed. One positive I can point out immediately is the dog is very expressive, like his head nodding up and down. The girl’s parents are building a trampoline outside for Christmas.

When they go back inside for the night and everything is quite, some foxes emerge from the bushes and climb onto the trampoline and start jumping, with other animals like a skunk and squirrels join in. One obvious problem is that the animals are obviously CGI. Its understandable why they did this as it’s the more efficient filmmaking option. But the issue is that you can tell it’s a special effect. The animals almost look cartoonish and the scenario is very unrealistic, with shots of the dog watching them.

It fades to Christmas day where the girl wakes up and runs downstairs to see her present; the dog over takes her and goes on the trampoline first, with everyone in awe and wonder at it. The tagline “gifts that everyone will love” fades in, then the John Lewis logo shows up.

Overall, it was ok. It has good intentions, but as I think that some people were just expecting too much.

4. Waitrose: Home for Christmas

Next up is the Waitrose advert. This advert follows a robin on a journey flying to a destination that isn’t revealed until the end, which turns out to be a mince pie.

The CGI on the robin is very good and the music is very nice. I think the best thing about this advert is that you feel for this bird’s struggle. It’s a small creature that you can root for and the shots capture how small it is with a lot of long shots. Speaking of which, the scenery looks great. A lot of white snow really brings out the winter feel of it. The narrative is told very well with no dialogue at all.

Overall, another great advert that holds up in a big competition of Christmas adverts.

3. Sainsbury’s: The Greatest Gift

This one is a stop motion musical, with James Corden providing the voice of the main character. Sam Fell, who has worked on another stop-motion film called ParaNormon, directed it. This is an excellent advert, terrific animation, the song is very nice, and it’s very heart-warming, funny and true to the Christmas spirit.

The advert follows Family man Dave, who is trying to get presents for his loved ones for Christmas. He eventually realises the best gift he can give is himself, so he makes toys of himself which he gives out to do his jobs while he stays with his family. Bit ridiculous, but it’s a cartoon, so it gets away with it.

Honestly, there’s not much to say other than you should see it. Its not the best advert that Sainsbury’s have put out (for me that’ll be the Christmas advert from 2014 which retold the events of Christmas day of 1914 in WW1) but this does come close due to catchy music, stop-motion animation and the message behind it.

2. Aldi: Kevin the Carrot

This one follows a carrot that wants to basically get eaten by a reindeer. His journey starts with him on the far side of the table and he makes his way to the mice pie next to the fireplace. He then wakes up hanging off Rudolph’s antlers.

Despite the fact it reminds me of sausage party, this is one of the better adverts. For one its short, only lasting a minute in comparison to the others, which were quite lengthy for an advert. I also like how it makes something like a table with food feel more epic than it actually is. It makes something that is low key, seem high key.

From roast potatoes that roll down like boulders, to mash being like a quick sand pit and even to an ice bucket that’s like walking in the arctic. The effects are fantastic and feel real, the narrators voice is very deep and family friendly.

1. Marks & Spencer’s: Christmas with love from Mrs Claus

There’s the M&S advert. Out of all five, this one was my favourite. It tells a lovely story of Santa’s wife receiving a letter from a boy and her going out of her way to give a present for his sister.

The cinematography is excellent and the music is great. But most importantly, it understands that Christmas is about showing that you love your family. Here we are shown boy Jake, usually plays jokes on his sister, Anna. It’s also shown that the dog ruined her shoes. So he makes it up to her by getting her a new pair of trainers.

Not only is this nice, it shows love and compassion, which is what Christmas, is really about. Without it, it wouldn’t be the holiday that it’s supposed to be.