What precedes each New Year? It's easy to answer: elegant Christmas trees, champagne, the warmth of a family holiday, tangerines and champagne, and, of course, Coca-Cola advertising featuring Santa Claus and holiday trucks with a great soundtrack. The brand has managed to do something incredible, because it managed to create a series of commercials that many people feel so warm.
It so happened that for many of us, the launch of a New Year's advertisement for a world-famous drink automatically starts the New Year's fuss: "The holiday is coming to us, the holiday is coming to us ..."
I wonder how the Coca-Cola company managed to create such a powerful ad that launches the New Year? We will tell you about it!
How it all began
In 1995, the company set out to create a unique advertising campaign that would become another essential attribute of the New Year. For help in realizing this idea, the company turned to the Doner Company (formerly W.B. Doner & Co.) advertising agency, located in Southfield, Michigan, USA. Doner Company was chosen for a reason, because it is one of the 50 best advertising agencies of the 20th century.
To shoot the video, several dozen trucks were involved, which adorned 30,000 light bulbs. By the way, at the end of the 90s, part of the trucks really drove through the cities of different countries of the world.
1996 "Santa packs" advertisement
What was the surprise of TV viewers when the following year the Coca-Cola advertisement not only returned to the screens, but also received an update. This time, the manufacturer launched the "Santa packs" campaign.
Russia welcomed the Coca-Cola advertisement especially warmly, beginning to taste foreign life. In the Russian version, the advertising slogan was translated as "The holiday is coming to us", despite the fact that the original version sounded like "Gifts from Santa are coming."
Here appeared the image of Santa Claus familiar today, which was created by the artist Haddon Sundblom. He has worked with Coca-Cola for over 30 years and has been creating posters for the famous brand all this time.
Haddon Sundblom's first poster for Coca-Cola "I take my hat off to this freshness", 1931
1998 - the year of entering the international market
1999 - signs video about the appearance of a truck from the fireplace
To create another video for the New Year 1999, three trucks were used, which, with the help of computer graphics, turned into a whole caravan. Snow-covered Vancouver (Canada) was chosen as a filming location.
The main characters of the video witness a Coca-Cola truck breaking into their house from the fireplace. Since then, every child in the world has dreamed of being in their place.
A special role in the New Year's video was played by the composition Melanie Thornton - Wonderful Dream, which was remembered by everyone, especially in Russia. For example, in 2011 Ivan Dorn covered it.
2005 - the year of the failed advertising concept
In 2005, The Coca-Cola Company decided to take a chance and launch an updated format for its New Year's ad called "The Greatest Gift".
However, no one understood this, so Coca-Cola was simply bombarded with requests to return the old video, after which it was decided to leave "The Holiday is Coming to Us."
One of the most effective ways is promotion through holidays. Using the theme of the holidays to your commercial interests is not only possible, but also necessary! The New Year is rapidly approaching - beloved by everyone, the most massive and longest holiday. This is a super-option to remind yourself;) And if you are going to use it, then you need to put in the effort to prepare immediately.
Why is the New Year an excellent advertising and information occasion?
At the end of the year, work in many B2B areas is activated, because this is the busiest time in terms of employment. Managers and employees have already returned from vacations and managed to join the work process. Before the end of the calendar year, it is necessary to complete all the work that has been started so as not to enter the new one with “tails”. It is also very important to implement the available budgets in order to start getting a return on them. Yes, and it is necessary to distribute the remaining funds allocated for advertising.
In general, winter is a time of general apathy. It is cold and frosty outside, everyone dreams of warmth, remembers the summer and does not want to do anything at all. Unless you sit at home under a blanket with a cup of cocoa. So people need to be motivated! Encourage them to make purchases, cheer them up, create the image that the best winter leisure is shopping and making big purchases. Please colleagues and clients, and they will not remain indebted to you.
We share ideas of using the New Year theme as an investment in the brand and increasing loyalty to the company. Hurry up to jump into the last car of the outgoing holiday train!
The first idea is a gift for everyone personally: colleagues/partners/customers.
New Year is a holiday, and on a holiday everyone likes to receive gifts. Colleagues, partners and customers of your company including. Giving a gift is a way to take care of them and remind them of your existence. This is a demonstration that you appreciate them, love them and cherish the existing relationship. In addition, in this act, in addition to the gesture of “good manners” and the impulse to do something pleasant, there is a subtle calculation. Even a small gift, such as a souvenir with the symbols of the coming year or a branded calendar, automatically has a friendly attitude towards the company, wins sympathy and forms a positive attitude.
The second idea is a mass congratulation of colleagues/partners/customers.
If there are no plans to congratulate each person personally, then do it en masse. There is nothing shameful in "giving" everyone in one fell swoop. Approach the holiday wish in many ways: order outdoor advertising and a banner on the site, post a video on the Internet, send a postcard in a holiday email newsletter, etc. This method of informing the company saves time on creating a message for some, others and thirds, and is addressed to all recipients at once.
The third idea is an image reminder of yourself.
As noted earlier, in the midst of the holidays, people tend to make a lot of purchases. In addition to gifts, various little things are purchased, including those bought by accident and impulsively. Such is the mentality of a Russian person: to save money for a long time in order to spend everything on vacation. It is the same with the New Year holidays: we saved money during the year, now we can not deny ourselves anything, we will buy everything - both necessary and unnecessary.
It is important for businessmen not to miss this moment when consumers themselves are eager to make purchases. Therefore, it is necessary to remind about yourself and the existence of a product or service. Run a themed Christmas ad. For popular brands, image advertising is suitable, just to indicate their involvement in the holiday and wave to potential buyers: “Hey, we are here!” :)
And also image communication helps the company to manipulate the consumer, creating a direct association "company = holiday". This happens due to the substitution of concepts, when instead of advertising the product, “Christmas mood just like that” is offered.
You can trace this effect on the example of Coca-Cola: every year, smartly decorated trucks and white bears signal the approach of the New Year. Such a good advertising tradition firmly connected the image of the holiday with this carbonated drink.
The fourth idea is action.
Discounts and sales are often timed to coincide with a particular holiday. And not in vain. Pre-holiday hassles and holidays are characterized by large expenses. People buy gifts for themselves and their loved ones, toys and decorations for the Christmas tree, new clothes, food for the New Year's table, and much more. The promotion will be a good motive to buy exactly your products and right now, while the offer is valid. Encourage buyers who are willing to spend money to do it at your place.
The fifth idea is an open summing up of the results of the year.
The onset of the New Year is the time to sum up the results of the company's work for the year. What has been achieved, how much product has been sold, how many new employees have been added… share it with others! It is better to present such information visually, for example in the form of infographics. She can be serious with dry numbers and facts, or not so much - in an entertaining manner and with funny statistics. Send it to your colleagues and clients, and post it on your website and social networks. Believe me, it will generate a lot of interest.
New Year is a universal advertising occasion. Having set goals (increase awareness and loyalty, increase the number of sales, strengthen corporate culture, etc.), choose the appropriate way to achieve them. The main thing to remember is that the New Year is still a social event, so it’s definitely not worth demonstrating your “I” clearly. Do something nice for others and then you will get the result.
New Year's Eve is a great time to try to win customers over with advertising. Thousands of famous brands brainstorm to create the most memorable and most touching videos. Portal "1000 ideas" made a selection of the 35 best, in our opinion, New Year's promotional videos in 2016.
An advertisement for the confectionery company Ferrero Rocher titled "Reward those who do not seek rewards." The video tells about the lighthouse keeper, who goes on duty every night to ensure the safe passage of ships through dangerous areas.
In the “Running” video, HUAWEI recalls the unpleasant tradition of kissing under the mistletoe and talks about why it is so important to have a smartphone with a fast-charging battery.
Milka's video about a boy who decided to bring Christmas closer and invent a time machine. The parents decided to play along.
Temptations Cat Treats released a New Year's ad, which clearly demonstrated the relationship of cats with Christmas trees and Christmas tree decorations.
Have you ever thought about the personal life of Santa Claus? Does he even have a wife? And if so, what does she do while grandpa delivers presents? That's just about this video store Marks & Spencer.
A Christmas story from Mercedes Benz intertwining youthful love and the superpowers of the German car industry during a snowy winter.
A very cute Christmas video about a grandfather learning English to talk to his granddaughter from the UK. The creators of the video are the Polish online store Allegro.pl.
How can you draw attention to chocolates in the supermarket? Here is a recipe from the Swiss chocolate brand Frey.
The British "McDonald's" decided to tell a good tale about a seller of children's toys and his doll, who every year unsuccessfully seeks his love.
A story about a father and son who live in the wilderness and decide to make a runway for Santa's team. While he “walked under the Christmas tree”, the aircraft managed to be stolen.
A story about a gingerbread horned cookie that no one loves, appreciates or eats. The authors of the video were the American retailer of home goods Lowe's and the agency BBDO.
How can grandparents drag their children and grandchildren to the New Year? The main condition is the presence of a Wi-Fi router in the house, according to Comcast.
New Year's video from the Czech representative office of the world famous mobile operator Vodafone called "Share the joy with us."
The story of how a cake from the Italian company BAULI almost caused a family drama.
Christmas performance by Pandora at Birmingham New Street station in Birmingham.
The Italian Decathlon demonstrates how to decorate the Christmas tree with the help of athletes and sports equipment.
Of the types of New Year's advertising from Coca-Cola, you can make a separate rating. In the Russian version - a New Year's clip from Dima Bilan for everyone's favorite song "The Holiday is coming to us." 4 million views on YouTube since the beginning of December 2016.
Funny Sky.at video about the annoying Christmas choir that comes to the house of German actor Elias Embarek
Video about an old man who was presented with a Playstation 4 for Christmas. “A gift can tell everything,” say representatives of the Norwegian online store Elkjøp
"New Year's Tale" from the Moscow Credit Bank about an eternally busy business mother, a child suffering from a lack of attention and Santa Claus, who must change this situation. The video caused a wave of indignation among the people, since the good wizard in it looks more like a maniac.
A series of videos about children who, in collusion with their parents, beg Santa for a Lexus as a Christmas present
The story of friendship between a girl Anna and clouds. The video was created by the Irish TV and Internet provider Three Ireland.
The story of teddy bears who come to life and decide to go shopping. Author - Ballymena Business Improvement District.
Christmas Eve through the eyes of a rabbit about to be eaten. The video was created by the online store bol.com.
Video of the American retail chain MEIJER. The idea of the story is that “Santa is among us”, but only children who know how to believe in a miracle know about its existence.
London's busiest international airport on Christmas Eve, Heathrow, encourages passengers to return home as soon as possible and celebrate the holidays with their loved ones.
Our, Russian Sylvester Stallone, in the New Year's advertising of high-speed Internet from MegaFon.
The energy company E.ON Sverige is giving a master class on festive decoration of houses.
Sasha Savina
Christmas commercials have long been an integral part of the holidays: for many of us, red Coca-Cola trucks are the first sign of the approaching New Year. Companies start releasing themed ads in the fall - most often these are touching videos about how important it is to spend time with family. We've already covered old teddy bears, a holiday video about dogs jumping on a trampoline, and Wes Anderson's Christmas for H&M. To wrap things up, we've rounded up a dozen more great ads to help get you in the holiday spirit.
English for beginners
Perhaps the best holiday advertising of this year belongs to the Polish online auction Allegro. The protagonist of the three-minute video is an elderly man, Robert, who lives in Poland and actively learns English: he repeats new words whenever possible, watches films in English, and sticks stickers with English names on all objects in the house. At the end of the video, we finally find out why he does it - and here it is impossible not to cry.
Reward those who do not seek rewards
Ferrero Rocher released a video about the lighthouse keeper: he works seven days a week and holidays, and the best reward for him is “silence on the air”, which means that everything is calm and the ships pass the difficult section without problems. On New Year's Eve, a guest flies to the hero, who brings him a gift - sweets and a video in which the sailors thank him for his work. The roles in the advertisement were played by ordinary people whose work is connected with the sea. The creators of the video wanted to convey a simple but important message: we are accustomed to taking the work of many people for granted, although it is of great importance.
How the Rebels Saved Christmas
This video was released back in October, but it is dedicated to Christmas and the Star Wars movie Rogue One, which was released in December. The video tells about the patients of the children's hospital: they play resistance fighters, who have a dangerous mission - to deliver the R2D2 droid to its destination. The funny video also has an important message: it was created in support of the Children's Miracle Network hospitals.
Frankie's Holiday
In its holiday video, Apple decided to tell the story of a not-so-Christmas character - Frankenstein's Monster. He records the melody of the music box on his smartphone and sets off from his secluded cabin to the city center to sing the song "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays". At first, they are wary of him, but then they begin to sing along in unison. Universal unity - isn't that the spirit of Christmas?
A Priest and Imam meet for a cup of tea
E-commerce giant Amazon reminds us that not everyone celebrates Christmas, but the holidays are a reason to take care of others, regardless of beliefs. Vicar Gary Bradley and Imam Zubeir Hassam starred in the ad: in the story, the characters gather for tea, and then order each other the same gifts for the holidays - knee pads, which should help them cope with pain in their legs during prayer.
The Tale of Thomas Burberry
The holiday ad that Burberry released for the brand's 160th anniversary is more like a feature-length movie trailer. No wonder: it was directed by Asif Kapadia and starred Domhnall Gleason, Sienna Miller, Lily James and Dominic West. The video tells about important events in the life of the founder of the brand, Thomas Burberry (he is played by Gleason). Sienna Miller plays Burberry's wife, Lily James plays pilot Betty Dawson (the heroine's prototype is Betty Kirby-Green, who flew from England to Cape Town in record time in 1937), and Dominic West plays Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. True, the facts in the video were treated freely: for example, by the beginning of the First World War, Thomas Burberry was actually about eighty years old.
Keep Them Busy
Everyone who has a cat at home knows that in the New Year and Christmas you need to be more careful, especially when decorating a Christmas tree: there is always a risk that the animal will blow down the tree and break the toys. Temptations, a cat treat company, released a video about just that: in a one-minute video, twenty-two cats and a kitten unanimously destroy a playground with Christmas decorations. The cats were trained for three weeks, and how they destroy the set was filmed for three days - but the result is definitely worth it.
Kevin The Carrot
Supermarket chain Aldi has released an ad about a carrot named Kevin. This is a new version of the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Moore: on Christmas Eve, the carrot really wants to see Santa, and then unexpectedly goes on a trip with him (the video has continuation explaining what happened to the hero). After the cartoon "Full raskolbas" it is difficult to take a talking carrot calmly, but the video is still very cute. True, additional materials to it are even better - for example, a sketch in which Kevin waiting a new John Lewis commercial (department store chain touching commercials every year), or a recording casting for the main role.
The Greatest Gift
Sainsbury's supermarket chain released a Christmas musical about the importance of finding time for loved ones in the midst of endless business, especially during the holidays. It's a fairly common idea in holiday videos, but it's been spiced up with some fun details: on Christmas Eve, for example, the town's residents queue up to get in line at the store - a similar situation was experienced by everyone who tried to buy gifts at the last minute. The song for the video was sung by James Corden and written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords. The advertisement took seven weeks to produce, and the creators used special 3D printing technology - so it's worth appreciating all the efforts made.
Click on play - the festive mood is guaranteed!
Penguin in love
The 2014 Christmas ad from John Lewis is shot in the best traditions of New Year's Eve melodramas. The touching story of a penguin in love has become a leader in views among Internet users. In a month and a half, the British retailer's video gained more than 22 million views and almost 100,000 likes.
The musical accompaniment played an important role in the success of the video. The soundtrack for the advertisement was the song Real Love, written by John Lennon and covered by the young English singer John Odell. The popularity of the John Lewis video clearly proves that on the eve of the New Year, everyone is especially eager for love.
good fairies
Another fairy tale for the new year, 2015, was filmed by the Marks & Spencer chain of stores. A story about fairies who fulfill the cherished desires of everyone will appeal to both adults and children. The video titled Follow the Fairies was produced by the British advertising agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe / Y&R, and the famous jazz composition Fly Me To The Moon performed by Julie London became the soundtrack.
Failed holiday
IKEA suggests not to take preparations for the New Year too seriously. The main dish of the New Year's table burned down? Couldn't unravel the Christmas tree garland? Wrapping paper suddenly ran out at the most inopportune moment? It does not matter, because the holiday is not made by things, but by close people! A soulful video in which everyone recognizes himself and his family.
Heartbreaking iPhone
If it seems to you that young people spend too much time buried in gadgets, then ... it only seems to you. Apple is convinced of this. A series of Apple's New Year's commercials show that sitting on an iPhone or iPad isn't always about wasting time on social media. A video from 2014 with a completely unexpected ending.
cute leopards
What is an advertising selection without cats? According to the jewelry brand Cartier, gifts are not brought by Santa Claus or Santa Claus at all, but by small leopards living in the sky over Paris. This is what Cartier's 2014 Christmas ad looks like, Winter Tale.
This video is a continuation of the story of 2012, when the company presented a three-minute L`Odyssee de Cartier promotional film about the revived Cartier decoration in the form of a leopard. Then it took 2 years to shoot the video, and the budget was 5 million dollars.
Surprise for air passengers
Another promotional film was filmed by WestJet. It is dedicated to the action Christmas Miracle ("Christmas Miracle"). At several departure airports, the airline installed an interactive screen where all passengers could convey their New Year wishes to Santa Claus. And during the flight, representatives of WestJet managed to buy gifts and hand them to the arriving passengers.
Dear retro
A classic of the genre - it is this commercial that most people associate with the onset of the New Year. He appeared on Russian screens more than 10 years ago, but many remember him even now. And the phrase "The holiday is coming to us" has become winged.
It was based on an English-language Coca-Cola commercial from 1993 called Holidays are coming, for which they came up with Russian voice acting.
Interesting fact: after several years of rotation, Coca-Cola decided to replace the Christmas video with trucks with a new video, The greatest gift. But right there, protests from thousands of viewers fell upon the company, who asked to return their favorite video to them, arguing that without the usual advertising they do not have a festive mood.
Alena Yarkova charged with New Year's mood