Ad Break #16 M&S, Chanel No 5, Edinburgh Gin

M&S – Go Jumpers!

Simple ideas are often the most effective and taking the idea of `jumpers` we see a variety of people each wearing one of fifty different jumpers from M&S’s  knitwear range while jumping around to the 1992 House of Pain song `Jump Around` (obvs). It is as if the jumper is controlling them.  Its brilliant and the first time I saw it was a real laugh out loud moment. The store does have a separate advert for food which follows last year’s model of celebrities wandering around sampling goods from a Xmas market without paying for them. It’s nowhere near as fun as Go Jumpers!

The quirky dance has already become much talked about. Last month at London Bridge station some of the dancers from the ad staged a performance – including the distinctive shoulder roll- after mingling with commuters. Part of M&S’s wider Christmas campaign, is to get people to share their attempts at the “shoulder roll” in their festive knitwear on social media. One of the choreography team on the advert has admitted that some of these moves are inspired by the Jamaican genre of dancehall. The ad was  created by the ODD agency with  British director Jake Nava whose most famous video is Beyonce’s `Single Ladies`. The advert has been so successful that a follow up `Go Pyjamas` has been quickly made.

Talking about the new campaign, Nathan Ansell, Marketing Director of M&S Clothing and Home said: “This year our Christmas campaign is all about great style and great value for the whole family. We’re having some fun with our customers and colleagues. We can’t wait to see the nation Go Jumpers for Christmas.” `Retail Week` suggested that if the shops themselves can replicate the joy in this advert the chain might have a brighter future. Maybe those cake scoffing stars in the other ad need to try the dance to work off all that indulgent cream and chocolate.

And in case you've not seen it, here is the ad. It's a triumph!

 

Chanel No 5 “What’s this?”

One of the most visually striking adverts around this festive season is for No.5 perfume by Chanel. Dressed in a retro 1930s Xmas outfit Lily Rose - Depp – the brand’s current icon and daughter of Johnny D -sits on a giant bottle of the perfume staring into a snow globe containing a regular sized bottle while we hear an auto-tuned voice repeating “I see…I see.” “What’s this?” says Lily with infectious enthusiasm and her joy continues as she realises that not only is five her favourite number but this is her favourite perfume. “Amazing” she concludes with a zing.

Directed by Jean- Paul Goude the ad takes place entirely in the confines of this one shot with none of the busy things you associate with Xmas ads and conveys the pleasure of gift giving. Its fun and festive without being over thought yet unusual enough to stand out amidst both the sentimental or humorous alternatives.  

Edinburgh Gin - `Filled With Wonder`

I’d never heard of Edinburgh Gin before seeing this ad so I suppose it’s worked already in spreading brand awareness and comes at a time when gin is apparently Britain’s favourite spirit. Created by Bright Signals, produced by Glassworks and entitled `Filled with Wonder` it has everything you might want in an ad with interesting direction and editing and a memorable song. Opening on a blossoming flower bed that turns into a skirt, the scene transforms into an urban party surrounded by a forest of rhubarb, then shifts to Edinburgh’s legendary skyline before emerging from a Rhubarb & Ginger gin and tonic. Elsewhere giant cubes of ice rain down from the sky like meteors above Edinburgh Castle, The idea of the unusual imagery and different perspectives apparently reflects the imagination – and the natural flavours that comprise Edinburgh Gin which explains the rhubarb.

The song that soundtracks the ad is also creating a stir. `The Night` by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons was first released as a single in 1972, but didn’t become a hit until it had become popular with devotees of Northern Soul music and it got to number 7 in the charts in 1976. It is now considered a Northern Soul classic.

This is the company’s first ever TV ad and their UK Marketing director Neil Mowat,said, while munching on a sprig of rhubarb: ‘We work wonders with our gin. We know how to make it brilliantly, no shortcuts, no exceptions. That means not only taking great care in what we do but also great joy too. So, beyond the very best distillation, we always add creativity and original thinking to the mix. Inventiveness is essential to Edinburgh G – and that’s the story our new campaign sets out to tell.”