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BUSINESSMonday 30 November 2015

In the land of Scrooge, a soft spot for Christmas ads

DANICA KIRKA Romeo Beckham leaping the University of Lancaster. ing each other for a few issue of loneliness,” said
Associated Press in the air ala Billy Elliott. “We know that (stores) sell hours to celebrate the holi- Marianne Hewitt, head of
LONDON (AP) — Forget “It’s almost like the start- us stuff, but we choose to day together in no man’s brand at Age UK. “It’s a
Black Friday. People in ing gun at Christmas,” said suspend disbelief. It’s the land. massive platform.”
Britain know the Christmas Daniel Best, a director at power of Santa Claus.” The ads are shared. News- It made business sense
papers offer reviews. Ana- for John Lewis to tap into
This is a still taken from the John Lewis department store Christmas TV commercial made lysts who usually spend changing demographics.
their time making stock The baby boom genera-
available on Friday Nov. 27, 2015. Forget Black Friday. People in Britain know the Christmas picks offer up scorecards tion is grappling with how
on who won the Christmas to care for their elders as
season has arrived when the big budget holiday ads start to appear. The two- to three-minute ad sweepstakes. parents live longer and
The ads often say some- are often separated from
mini movies, which flood TV screens each November, get premiered, rated and analyzed for thing about modern Brit- their loved ones by the de-
ain. The John Lewis ad in mands of work and family.
deeper meaning as the U.K.’s biggest retailers vie for customers with commercials that sell the particular has been the And being associated with
subject of much conversa- a cause can help a com-
idea of Christmas more than any gift. (John Lewis, via AP) tion this year. pany distinguish itself from
Set to a cover of the Oa- the broader seasonal on-
season has arrived when Unruly, which tracks the British retailers first experi- sis song “Half The World slaught of retail promotions
the big budget holiday ads number of times ads are mented with longer Christ- Away,” the ad features and offers.
start to appear. shared on social media. mas ads — or adverts as Lily, a little girl on Earth “These adverts are giving
The two- to three-minute “We don’t have Thanksgiv- they are known here — in who looks through her retailers a voice — the way
mini-movies, which flood ing, so emotions are riding the 1970s and ‘80s, but telescope and sees an el- rock stars used to have,”
TV screens each Novem- high on Christmas.” they soon fell out of fash- derly man emerging from said Richard Cope, se-
ber, get premiered, rated Eagerly awaited by con- ion. The shift from 30-sec- a shack on the moon. With nior trends analyst at mar-
and analyzed for deeper sumers, retail analysts and ond spots to today’s visual determination, she figures ket research firm Mintel.
meaning as the U.K.’s big- media critics — much like novellas really took off af- out a way to connect with “They’ve got the public’s
gest retailers vie for cus- Super Bowl ads in the Unit- ter the 2008 financial crisis. him. The spot ends with the attention. It’s an event. ...
tomers with commercials ed States— the Christmas Retailers trying to capture tag line “Show someone It’s not just an opportunity
that sell the idea of Christ- commercials are now part the public mood began to they’re loved this Christ- to hawk your goods. You
mas more than any spe- of the holiday folklore in experiment with ads that mas,” then fades to the can use it to set the agen-
cific object. this island nation of 64 mil- were a bit less hard sell and John Lewis logo. da as well.”
This year’s biggest hit tells lion, as much as flaming a bit more about the spirit The retail chain produced Not everyone loves them.
the story of a little girl who puddings, mince pies and of giving, Hallam said. the ad in cooperation with Writing on the Guardian
befriends an elderly man Ebenezer Scrooge. One of the biggest ads the senior citizens’ charity newspaper’s television
on the moon and doesn’t “They have become part last year, from the gro- Age UK, which jumped at and radio blog, Stuart Heri-
mention the sponsor - de- of our Christmas tradition in cery chain Sainsbury’s, the chance to piggyback tage wondered whether
partment store John Lewis the same way Santa Claus was set in a trench during on the reach that comes the commercials had gone
- until the final frame. Other is,” said Leslie Hallam, an World War I and depicted with being part of the too far.
ads feature the Muppets, expert in advertising psy- the 1914 Christmas Truce, John Lewis Christmas com- “Things desperately need
accident-prone cats and chology who teaches at when soldiers stopped kill- mercial. The firm that pro- to be brought back down
duced the ad, adam&eve to earth next year,” he
DDB, produced a sequel wrote. “Part of me hopes
for the charity for free, that the big 2016 John
which includes an appeal Lewis advert is just the guy
for donations to help the from the Safestyle double
1 million elderly people in glazing ads standing in
Britain who go for a month a branch of John Lewis
without talking to anyone. shouting ‘BUY YOUR MUM
“I think for us it’s about A KETTLE’ over and over
raising awareness of the again.”q

Black Friday store sales fall as Americans buy more online

C. S. RUGABER Bree Stopper, middle, talks on the phone after finishing work at line shopping, as Americans saw fewer customer visits
AP Economics Writer a clothing store in the Willowbrook Mall, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, hunt down deals on their on Thanksgiving and Black
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black as people shop on Black Friday in Wayne, N.J. smartphones, tablets and Friday, compared with last
Friday shopping is shifting computers. And many re- year, according to Kevin
from hours spent in line to (Carmine Galasso/via AP) tailers are offering bargains Kearns, ShopperTrak’s chief
more time online. long before Thanksgiving, revenue officer. “Shoppers
Sales at retail stores the limiting the impact of Black are researching products
day after the Thanksgiving Friday specials. Online sales ahead of time, targeting
holiday fell 10 percent to jumped 14.3 percent on their store visits, and arriv-
$10.4 billion this year, down Friday compared with last ing in-store with the inten-
from $11.6 billion in 2014, year, according to Ado- tion of making a purchase,”
according to research firm be, which tracked activ- Kearns said. The drop in
ShopperTrak. And sales on ity on 4,500 retail websites. Thanksgiving Day visits may
Thanksgiving dropped by Email promotions drove 25 also reflect a “social back-
the same percentage, to percent more sales com- lash” against stores open-
$1.8 billion. A big reason for pared with 2014, the com- ing on that day, Kearns
the decline is increased on- pany said. Store retailers said.q