1. Hafod Hardware

Hafod Hardware, a locally owned store in Rhayader, Wales, released a nostalgic Christmas commercial called '#BeAKidThisChristmas'. The two-year-old star of the advert is Arthur Jones.

His father Tom Jones runs the hardware store with his parents. The video was shot by a friend Josh Holdaway in one day, for less than £100. Comments on YouTube regarding the commercial included:
  • "This is not an ad this is art"
  • "This is like the light at the end of the Black Friday tunnel when the whole world is crazed"
The soundtrack is the make or break for an ad. In this case, it was the cover of the 1980s band Alphaville's Forever Young by singer Andrea von Kampen. This leaves little room to wonder why the commercial has gone viral.

2. Tesco

Quite a few of the festive season ads this year lack either the story or the product placement. Not so with Tesco's time-traveling van in #DeliveringChristmas. The ad has a 'Back to the Future' vibe with a food truck driver delivering to Victorian-era England and giving the crowds 'food from the future'.

There are also deliveries to War World II, a 1990s rave, Buckingham Palace and other settings. The highlights are the array of Tesco products that are dropped off at each venue. 

3. Pepsi 

With over six million views on YouTube, Pepsi did something right with their 'Cardi B Gift it Forward' ad. The ads is in line with the brand's trend of using celebrities. 

It's a fresh ad, which is a touch crass but also cute — especially when she says to the twerking elf, "Try less hands and more hips." 

4. Coke

Coca-Cola's ad, on the other hand, is more around trying to unite the world this Christmas with a message of inclusivity and the need to welcome Santa into your home.

Santa, in this case, is a metaphor for the 'stranger' or the 'other' or in 2019, the refugee. Coke took a risk with this as it is weightier than their previous fizzy Festive Season ads.

5. Apple

Apple gets it right with its Holiday ad. It's authentic, touching and it showcases Apple technology. It is interesting to see the emerging trend of using 'real' people compared with last year's animated commercial.

The current one is more like watching a beautifully crafted short film and, as they say, "Sometimes, the best gifts can come from the most unexpected places."

6. RSPCA

There has to be one animal-centric advert on the list and it is the RSPCA. The two-minute commercial features Tiny Tink, the rescue pony who has big dreams. As the RSPCA team says on YouTube, "She's always wanted to be one of Santa's herd, helping other vulnerable animals and find her very own forever home." This ad has a 1980s cover version of Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, by Lucy Ellie.

7. New Store Leader

Ikea's Silence the Critics '#WonderfulEveryday' ad is fresh, funny and taps into the anxiety many people feel over the Festive Season when they're entertaining. D Double E raps about the family's well-worn home and the ad shows what a difference some choice Ikea purchases can make.

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*Image courtesy of Hafod Hardware