Today we take our annual look at the Spirit of Christmas as seen through the competing Christmas ads of the UK. On this side of the pond, commercials are seen as a necessary evil, but in Britain, people eagerly await the annual 'make or break' Christmas ads from stores such as Marks & Spencers, John Lewis and Sainsbury. This year's ads are already out and the people have voted: some good, some not so good ... and one that was voted as - umm - rather horrifying, actually, with an earworm song that you can't get rid of once you've heard it!
Our first entry comes from the John Lewis stores, featuring Moz the Monster (seen at right). While not a heart-tugging home run as some of their past year's ads have been, it's still a cute ad. Take a look at it here:
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/entertainmenttv/john-lewis-unveils-its-christmas-advert-for-2017-as-moz-the-monster-comes-out-from-under-the-bed/ar-BBEMNVn Not to be outdone, Marks and Spencers (John Lewis' biggest competitors) bring out the big guns with none other than Paddington Bear, who makes it his mission to help 'Santa' deliver gifts to the folks in his neighborhood on Christmas Eve. Not surprisingly, this gets my vote for Best Ad for the 2017 season - but I readily admit up front that Paddington and I have a long history together, so I should probably disqualify myself here.
Give it a gander:
Up next, Peacocks decided to go all musical with their ad - I'm going to say right now that unless you follow UK music (and especially Britain's Got Talent), you're not going to know half the people in this ad. The only ones I know are the brothers who form Jedward, and that's only because I've seen them on The Graham Norton Show. This ad is probably more of a hit over in the UK ... or not, once you take a look at the comments section below the link. Sounds like a bit of a misfire there this year, Peacocks!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/4901625/peacocks-christmas-advert-2017-features-honey-g-jedward-wagner-and-more-x-factor-stars/You would think THAT would have been the musical number folks were up in arms about, right? Guess again! The true Christmas earworm taking over the British Isles comes from Sainsbury's ad and features none other than our very own Kermit The Frog, Rollo, the Singing Dog and a number of cameos from both regular folks and UK celebs. It's called 'Every Bit of Christmas' and will get on Every One Of Your Nerves! Forewarned is Forearmed ... here you go! And I know I've asked this before, but seriously, what is it over there with the link between Christmas and Brussels Sprouts ???
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/4888429/sainsburys-christmas-advert-2017-kermit-the-frog/
Finally, here's the link to the other UK ads, from Lidl to Tesco's and from Aldi to Asda. The Tesco ad is another favorite, concentrating on the Christmas Turkey as seen in a number of different families' homes (I'm particularly fond of the harried Mum who has had enough of the banter from the rest of the family and tells them all to "get out of my kitchen, all of ya!" :) )
https://uk.style.yahoo.com/christmas-adverts-2017-asda-beats-120000070.html
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Before we retire for the day, there was breaking news yesterday of a nefarious Grinch-like creature who almost 'stole Christmas' in Sea Girt, New Jersey. A picture of the culprit follows is at right and the full story can be found at this link:http://myfox8.com/2017/12/04/squirrel-blamed-for-damaging-towns-christmas-display-charged-with-criminal-mischief/
Yes, you're reading that right .. the squirrel was 'charged with criminal mischief' ... NOW we're talking K.A.C. material! :)
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Coming Tomorrow: Our annual look at Christmas Food Fails - save room for these!
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