[imagesource: YouTube / John Lewis]

You can tell it’s approaching Christmas time because the shops have whipped out the tinsel and somebody’s already asked if you want to go to Carols by Candlelight at Kirstenbosch this year.

It’s a hard pass and always will be, thanks. I am of the belief that you get your Christmas shopping done early and then settle in for another year of being the Grinch.

Another solid indicator that we’re nearing December is the rolling out of the UK’s big-budget Christmas adverts. It’s become customary for acclaimed filmmakers and directors like Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) to offer their expertise and no expense is spared.

The UK might find itself in a massive cost-of-living crisis at present but the spending goes on. According to The Independent, some ads have hit the mark and others have missed, leading to what they call a “definitive ranking”.

At the bottom of the list is the McDonald’s effort:

Maybe it’s the soul-crushing notion of a Christmas dinner at Maccers, but McDonald’s and Christmas just don’t seem natural bedfellows.

Naturally, there’s a tearjerking central message and a soundtrack aimed at bringing anybody who’s feeling slightly emotionally vulnerable to tears:

Net up, Aldi:

Aldi’s Christmas advert follows a family of anthropomorphic CGI carrots as they travel off for the holidays. There’s a Home Alone parody, a storybook narrator, and a bizarre penis gag involving a snowman – an odd mix of ideas that never really congeals into anything solid.

Keep an eye out for the penis gag around the one-minute mark:

We will feature Asda purely on the basis that the advert includes Will Ferrell:

…it can’t have been cheap getting Will Ferrell to reprise the role of Buddy, from the popular 2003 Christmas film Elf. Whether it’s an endearing return for a beloved character or a heinous bastardisation of a modern classic is a matter of perspective. Personally, I’ve never quite felt the love for Elf, so this mildly cringy tie-in felt more or less indistinguishable from the real thing.

Keep on cashing those cheques, Will, as long as they keep waving them in front of your face:

We’re now moving into distinguished terrain, where spunking that huge budget may have been worth it.

John Lewis did well with ‘The Beginner’:

The story is told effectively by way of a well-paced montage, set to a laidback cover of Blink 182’s “All The Small Things”. Those looking for an excuse to cry won’t leave disappointed.

We’re all clinging on for dear life until the end of the year. Go on, have a cry:

The best Christmas advert of the year, at least according to The Independent, is Boots’ “#JoyForAll”:

The advert sees a woman try on a pair of glasses that show the world around her ensconced in Christmas cheer – sort of like a breezy, anti-satirical spin on John Carpenter’s They Live. The last shot sees her overlooking a warm Christmas scene in her own home, only to lift the lenses and find that nothing changes. It’s clever, memorable and well put together.

If you say so:

Nice and upbeat, I guess.

If that made you feel at all like crying, you may need a hug.

It shouldn’t be too long now before our own stores and supermarkets start rolling out their Christmas campaigns. Oh, what joy awaits us.

[source:independent]