We all know it's never truly Christmas until the Coca Cola advert returns to our screens. Despite airing the same advert every year, Coca Cola have never failed to reignite that Christmas spirit within each and every one of us. So great is our excitement, that other companies have jumped on the Christmas advert band wagon in an attempt to inspire us all the same. In recent years, the most famous and long awaited of these has always belonged to retailer John Lewis, this year however, at least for us at Movie'n'Co, another store just might have taken the top spot.
Earlier this month, department store Marks & Spencer unveiled its new Christmas campaign which featured a pretty well known, marmalade loving Peruvian bear. If you've not seen the ad yet, or our clues just aren't obvious enough, we're talking about Paddington Bear, of course. The curious but mischievous bear made headlines with his cameo appearance in the store's Christmas advert, but that's not the only thing that's got people talking. The ad came shortly before the premiere of 'Paddington 2', the sequel to the 2014 success 'Paddington', which told the story of the Peruvian's move from the wild to the concrete jungle that is central London. Ben Whishaw, who voices the bear in the films, was hired to reprise his role in the ad.
'Paddington 2' premiered on 10th November, whilst Marks & Spencer first aired their Christmas advert on 7th November and teased Twitter users with tweets like the one below:
Breaking news! We'll bring you more as the story develops... pic.twitter.com/tBD3N0h6oQ
? M&S (@marksandspencer) November 4, 2017
In the ad, we see our favourite bear awaken in the middle of the night, to the sound of something on the roof. As curious as we are, Paddington sets off to investigate, only to find a thief, who he believes to be Santa Claus, attempting a quick getaway with the family's gifts. The rest of the advert sees Paddington lead the criminal all over London redelivering the stolen presents all the while remaining oblivious. Upon seeing the joy on everyone's faces on Christmas morning, the thief is overcome with emotion - it appears that Christmas spirit really does capture all!
Latest update: We can now reveal our tale of true Christmas spirit with our favourite @paddingtonbear #lovethebear > https://t.co/CbdLGcbYIn pic.twitter.com/fNKu7Sr5f0
? M&S (@marksandspencer) November 7, 2017
For the most part, the ad was well received, although following its premiere, the retailer was hit with a backlash after avid viewers believed the video contained a swearword. The moment of confusion is at minute 01.13, where Marks & Spencer claim the thief states, "Thank you, little bear". Some viewers, on the other hand claim they heard, "Fuck you, little bear". The Advertising Standards Authority swiftly stepped in to resolve matters. A spokesperson for the authority had the following to say: "Whilst we appreciated that some viewers may have misinterpreted this, the ad did not contain a swearword and therefore did not break the rules".
Whilst Marks & Spencer are the latest to use a popular character in their Christmas TV advert, they are by no means the first. Irn-Bru released an equally as popular advert in 2006 which featured 'The Snowman'. The ad was so popular in Scotland, that it is still aired around Christmastime today.
The advert sees, Billy, the boy from the film, take a sip from a can of Irn-Bru whilst putting finishing touches to his snowman. Upon coming to life, to two take off, soaring through the skies. The Snowman then tries and fails to take a sip of Billy's Irn-Bru, because Billy doesn't want to share. Having had enough, The Snowman, drops Billy, in favour of his drink. Billy lands in a pile of snow, whilst The Snowman continues on happily. If that doesn't portray how much people crave Irn-Bru, we don't know what will.
'The Snowman' has proven a popular choice for Christmas adverts over the years, and last year, the famous character returned to advertise Barbour coats. In the video, a young Billy plays with The Snowman and new character 'The Snowdog, from 'The Snowman and The Snowdog'. The three embark on an adventure, and at the end, Billy and his dog are gifted with Barbour coats. The ad closes with "gifts they'll always remember" clearly taking advantage of the fact that Billy is always seen playing outside in just his pyjamas.
This year, both The Snowman and The Snowdog returned for Barbour coats once more. However, for the first time ever, we're able to see a grown up Billy. On Christmas day, whilst his daughter is opening her presents, Billy opens the front door to an unexpected visitor, The Snowman. The daughter then hands The Snowman a present from under the tree which happens to be a Barbour coat. Delighted, The Snowman tries on his gift and it's a prefect fit. This advert also ends with "gifts they'll always remember".
John Lewis have also released their annual Christmas ad, although it's not as traditional as we're used to. You can see the Waitrose one here. The Coca Cola ad officially aired on 17th November, so I think it's safe to say that Christmas 2017 is officially here!!
