Versa's Holiday Favorites!

Holiday ads are at their best when they makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  People pay special attention to ads at Christmas because everyone has a little spare time to look online for the perfect Christmas gift.

But some of the most effective Christmas advertisements aren’t for gifts, they’re for everyday home essentials, like shaving cream, coffee, tide bleach, and hair remover.  Those don’t seem like the most festive of holiday items, but by the time Christmas morning comes around, well, we’ve probably used at least one of them. 

Here are some holiday ads we’re especially impressed by: 

The Nespresso Coffee Machine.  It’s a simple design—6 coffee cups in the shape of a Christmas tree.  But there’s also an underlying message—doesn’t your entire family love coffee on Christmas morning?

Did dad remember to shave?  Because otherwise he’s going to look like Santa Claus.   This clever ad from Gilette plays with the idea that dads don’t want to look too jolly.  At the same time, it reminds us of when we were kids and we couldn’t wait to steal our dad’s shaving cream to make our own frosty Christmas beard!

Who needs Tide bleach at Christmas?  Well, maybe someone will.  Tide’s Christmas tree tells us we should be prepared at all times.  What if we wear a not-so-adorable stain to our neighbor’s Christmas party? 

Veet helps women have soft, smooth legs without having to shave.  This ad recalls Charlie Brown’s bare little Christmas tree.  Who doesn’t love watching that movie every holiday season? 

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Brand Mantras:  Say What Everyone’s Thinking

Remember the “Got Milk?” ads of the 90s?  The ads were so popular that by the end of the decade, almost every famous celebrity had done a 1-page magazine insert with the then-iconic white mustache. 

Not everyone remembers the original commercial, either, but the phrase “Got Milk?” became a stock phrase in American culture.  So did “Hungry?  Why Wait?” Snickers’ popular ad campaign.  With the country’s move away from junk food and toward health food with no preservatives or additives, both ads went out of their way to make a new statement—when you have a craving, you have a craving.

Ads like these play into our work culture’s hunger for taking a break.  They provide a humorous mantra for the huddled masses, nudging you in the arm like a good friend who says, “You’re fine the way you are.”

Great advertising copy is about tuning in to who people really are and what they really want.  Snickers’ Joe Pesci “Hungry, Why Wait?” commercial is funny because it’s recognizable—two friends go out to a party, hoping to pick up some girls.  One of the friends is on edge (Joe Pesci):  “What are you looking at?  Oh, we’re not good enough for you,” he accuses a girl he’s just met.  His friend takes him aside:  “Eat a Snickers…Cause you get a little angry when you’re hungry.  Better?”  Magically, Joe Pesci turns into a normal guy in his mid-twenties, ready to act decently.

When done right, an iconic advertising phrase can bring people together.  They recognize themselves, their friends, and their friends’ friends in the advertisement.  And years after they’ve seen the commercial, they’ll remember that a Snickers or some milk is exactly what they need to curb the hunger they’ve had all day.  They don’t have to feel guilty about it, either.  

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