Digital Media Monkey

The new lump-in-your-throat John Lewis advert has captured the imagination of the nation, sending Fyfe Dangerfield’s easily likeable cover of an old Billy Joel record almost to the top of the UK popular music charts and causing the more sentimental amongst us to rush to the phone to touch base with our loved ones.

Beautiful as the ad is it serves only to cast a melancholy shadow on my day. As it comes to its conclusion the dominating thoughts in my head are not that John Lewis is a quality retailer and a friend throughout my life who’ll always be there catering for my every materialistic whim and need, but of my inevitable slide into old age and eventual demise. That is, if I’m lucky to get through enough of life to get that far (and if I do God-knows what I’ll do with all the useless things I purchased over the years after watching persuasive heart-strong tugging adverts).

The advert is beautiful art for the masses; without requiring any thought it taps into emotions that we hold dearest. The combination of Mr Dangerfield’s soothing voice, the attractive young student celebrating the best years of her live and the loving mother doting on her families every need creates a perfect picture of middle England bliss that everyone should aspire too.

A fantastic collection of moving images and sound? An interesting piece of brand communication? A great and true reflection of live in Britain? Not if certain newspapers are to be believed, do you not read the Daily Mail folks?!

My favourite comment on this advert comes from a post on John Lewis’s YouTube channel from sanjuro4, who casts a fantastic social viewpoint on proceedings:
“Poundland should make their own version where the woman spends most her life alone living in a rathole of? [sic] a bedsit, eating potnoodles and watching daytime TV”
And there’s also much discussion in the national press, where it’s pointed out that the ad has more than a few similarities to other adverts and films.

I’m going to make a sweeping statement and guess that many people involved in advertising don’t hold the We Buy Any Car television adverts in much esteem. It’s manufactured jingle and post-’Crazy Frog’ soundtrack make for in yer face marketing that might have the more artistic of creative directors rolling in their graves and eating their snakeskin shoes.

Personally, if I was Marketing Director at We Buy Any Car, I’d be smugly ecstatic, sitting with feet up on the desk and a self-satisfied grin on my face. The ad is brilliant in it’s own way. If you’ve seen it, I challenge you to a brand recall survey: “Name a company that will buy your car?”

See?!

I’ve seen a few tweets scoffing at Thomas Cook’s latest TV advert which sees Jamie and Louise Redknapp parading and gyrating around one of their luxury resorts (I won’t scoff too much myself as I quite admire the Redknapps but that’s a digression for another day).

Thomas Cook’s tv ad does more to alienate me than attract me though. I somehow can’t see me and Sarah (my girlfriend) affording to stay in the same swish pad and private beach as Jamie and Louise (before the final frame I was convinced it would be a coveted luxury holiday brand rather than a high street one). I’m sure it will work to inspire some people but that sort of aspirational marketing leaves me a little cold (as well as guffawing at some of the slow-mo pics, particularly Jamie’s golf drive and Louise’s equestrian friend).

Anyway, this article isn’t about that tv ad or Thomas Cook. It’s about one of their rivals, and the data driven approach of their fiercest competitor Thomson, whose integrated approach really appeals to me. Read the rest of this entry »