 I can I learned. Great. Yeah, listen that music was great. I was listening to the first song I think it oh my gosh I can see myself already watching home alone the fire on the Christmas tree and then Christopher It's yeah, it is amazing. Isn't it that the music immediately brings us back to a memory It evokes an emotion and that's you're absolutely right that's exactly what Christmas ads do when they when they pick a specific piece of music That's what they're hoping they're going to do when there's going to be then that association with the music and the brand and the whole ad but I think it's interesting when as an advertising agency like Incarnate Partners we'd always say there should be four parts that would make a great Christmas ad and again I always had a fifth one but the four ones really would be the storytelling that should evoke some type of emotion in you and there has to be a relevance to the ad a very strong insight and then an investment and that could be in that high production values it could be the producer it could be down to the music it could be the talent and I'd ask an ad that you should really ask does this ad stand the test of time like will this be something that could be a real memorable and in string intrinsically linked to the brand down the line so yeah I think that's an interesting place to jump off and we're discussing Christmas ads and funny you should say that you will they stand the test of times there's the really good ones do because they're shown year after I'm thinking about like the Coca-Cola ad and the Guinness ad they they're shown year after year and don't change exactly so I would have and I bet if you did a list and your listeners did a list of there probably top three I'm thinking kind of kind of global brands where it's not any kind of product introduced just really it's a beautiful storytelling you're absolutely right the Coca-Cola ad and that ad is it's really interesting over the there's only been three versions of that made over the last kind of two and a half decades it's since 1999 95 actually it first went on and they took that off air in 2001 and they lasted five years and then people were going crazy every Christmas going where is the Coca-Cola because it was kind of like the start of Christmas ads you heard that in the radio and it was like I heard it in TV and you go oh we're back to Christmas and I would think one of the other ads is the Cornflakes ad so it's the Kella Cornflakes is that really cute ad with the little kids coming down to try and see if they can see Santa Claus and the little girl does and she gives him shares the the Cornflakes with them it's a really cute ad do you remember that one I do I do and I also remember there's a well there's a there's the Don's ad which I really like the one where the the children are all trying to help Santa to deliver his presence because of the bad weather yes I love that too and actually when I often start off talking of talking about Christmas ad I start kind of with the global ones the big ones we all know then I do think moving on to the Irish ones there's is an ad for me that sits right with both categories and that would be the Guinness ad and you know it is the well I just love it because it's the the home of Christmas it's about you know the beautiful white Christmas and it has the lovely imagery of the gates and St. James's Gate and it has the lovely clad ad has the snow it's a beautiful ad do you know that it's like a live Christmas postcard isn't it yeah or Christmas card yeah it's it is it's beautiful and it's and it's it's live and it's it's moving there in front of you and every time you're going oh wow that's Christmas and that ad you know has been on there since 2014 and what I love about that one that dream of a white one is because I think it's really important that Irish agencies you know creative agencies are given the kudos this is that that ad the strategy and the creative was devised in Ireland and I wouldn't even start to mention people because I'm bound to leave somebody out there's so many people involved in it but there are not that was an Irish crew and an Irish I know production probably went wider field but that that was devised in Ireland by some great creative still working in the Irish industry which is brilliant for us because I think that's where you see over the last number of years there has been some really great advertising put out by by Irish agencies and like you've mentioned the the Don's ad I love that one I love the super value one from yes yes and the little boys are excited and you think all the way long it's he's speaking about Santa and then his granddad comes in absolutely brings tears to your eyes every time yeah yeah and I think like that they got everything right and that because it's building a lovely story it's lovely to have a little bit of a twist at the end it was so relevant because it was at that time where you know we were during COVID you didn't know whether somebody was coming or not and you know what even if it weren't COVID that is still it's not a given that every year grandparents would be able to come and travel see their grandkids I think that was beautiful I think Woody's did a lovely ad you remember the squeaky gate ad the woman the old woman who everybody in the street knew and she struggled closing opening closing the gate and then exactly I think that's a beautiful one because again it is it was all around that time when we were everybody was looking after their community and everybody was looking after neighbors during COVID which is a lovely thought that that might have lasted in our communities that sense of kind of people at the heart of community we look out for each other I suppose it was really amplified during COVID so this ad I think will last the test of time because it still is relevant but it's a beautiful ad and it's not it's not corny it's just really nice I think it's a lovely Christmas ad it is and so often I mean the concepts can be great but unless they're well made unless they're well directed and well made and then you know things like music and stuff but play a big part but they have to be well made you're absolutely right that's the production values at the end and that's where you know you know you're right I think that there's some ads that have been done that maybe haven't looked the part or fitted the brand and the thing is this is all about you know for a lot of the brands it's setting them up at the start of the year but it's brand salience throughout the year the people are remembering that brand so it might need to be selling anything there might necessarily be a product shoner or an offer or a call to action on the ad but that is setting it up in people's minds that throughout the year the next time they see something that's more specific it's tactical advertising with money off they will remember this Christmas ad but I think that's yeah I think that there's been some great ones over the last while I think you're right the production values are really high I think interesting for that on that point and I'm sure your listeners will know a lot of these ads you know John Lewis in the UK yes and they every year do these amazing ads and they would have been known for their production very high values and you know really putting a lot of money into them and they have been amazing ones over the years like I loved the little one in 2011 it's a little boy excited for Christmas and only at the end you were like the excitement is giving his parents a present not him receiving presents then Lily allanted an animated version of an advert for them with the song somewhere only we know it was stunning in 2013 and then this year they did one where it was called the beginner I'm not sure have you seen it on TV yet I saw the video I watched it went down and watched it before yeah on YouTube yeah oh did you okay had a look so again that's a really clever one because like you said about production normally they would have a lot more in their production they've kind of paired it back it's still beautifully shot there's an attention to detail but it's not letting us forget the messages it's over 100,000 children in the UK with Ben Christmas in care now I know it's a UK ad I wish we had something similar in Ireland but again it's just bringing it back that you know the traditional budget for special effects was was taken out of it but it was very much like a heartfelt it was it was real yeah and and so much about Christmas is tapping into our memories and also it's about family and that reminds me of a lead lad from a few years ago where the extended family came to the old house that was boarded up yeah and they got it all Christmasy and then the granny and grand dad pulled up and they were all having Christmas together in in the old homestead it was it was a good ad because it pulled on those hard strings yeah but you know the interesting part you see of just a very good point there is they have to get the balance right because it is about pulling on the hard strings but not breaking the hard strings and there's certain times so there has there was an ad that was pulled because like that if there's if there's a twist at the end that is too sad people don't like it so they like to get that it's very hard to do it's getting that balance right without been too too sad and that is that is the the I suppose the challenge every year do you remember actually and the Barry's Tiat the radio advert it was that long advert and it was all about a train set that the dad buys for his kids it still it was it was on here a couple of weeks back they still use it it's really long and and you're wondering where's this going and what's he doing and yes it's very effective still yeah yeah that's so it's interesting because that was first aired in 1994 and again like a lot of ads can be divisive I was chatting to somebody about so my favorite Irish ad is the Guinness ad I just love it and somebody said to me oh I wish they didn't have those that line in it where they say don't forget to turn the lights out and it's patronizing and why do they do it it's amazing isn't it how an ad can be for so many people so beautiful but there's equally people who don't and that's this goes all down to our personal situations and our what we like and we dislike and that's what makes Christmas ads so kind of interesting to chat about isn't it yeah and I think we all we all have an opinion on them and because we watch also we watch so much TV at Christmas we're all familiar with them and it's it's also it's part of Christmas you know and I mentioned at the start there about the coca-cola ad and even the Guinness ad and it's all part of Christmas and when we see them on and there used to be an ad I played here in Highland for the local shopping center and it's a gay Burns voice and it just it's just some it just it was just so warm and and he was he was chatting about that warm and fuzzy feeling and it just it kind of spelled Christmas or it it meant that Christmas was coming and same applies to the the well-known TV ads that we we know and love and that's exactly what they do because they do trigger an emotion and that's what they want to do but then also you know Christmas is the most lucrative time of the year for most these brands so there is a purpose you know behind all of this there's a purpose to a two you know I love I think when I love a lot of the ads so the cleverness is the kind of insight that's there and I don't know if you have seen you know the lottery ad and there's there was one over the last number of years and they're giving each other the gift of a lotto card you know the Christmas yes and she's giving it and she's not really giving it half giving it and you know that struggle you're giving someone a present you want to keep yourself and they really kind of tapped on that which I loved and I love the other one is the voter phone ad and the dad is he's hopping into the water and he's got his obviously his phone is in that around his neck in a protective case he hops into his Christmas swim and then his daughter is far far away we don't know where and he just goes to her are you still with me and there's a lovely pause and she goes yeah I'm still with you and it's well for me anyway that one every Christmas I go oh my god because it's that bittersweet you know someone's living so far away you make the Christmas phone call you can normally hear a lot going on in the background the real homely sounds of whether it's the radio in the background or family or tv or and you're so far away and it's it's just really I think that that ad as well they just really capture it beautifully it's happy I quite like the the one for on post this year the 10 man with the with it with the heart and then he gets a gets a message in the post and the heart warms up and it makes a difference very clever I think that's a really lovely ad and actually I was looking back because I love on post as a brand and I think you know their CEO Dave Mac Redmond has done an amazing job from so many things they've done and and not least their advertising and if you remember last year was it last year the year before they had that lovely piece where the girl in Vietnam was sent the box with all her kind of bringing Christmas home to her and at the time none of us could travel so there was so many people nearly every family in Ireland I would imagine had somebody in the immediate or wider family that couldn't make it home so that ad again was really really relevant and it's resonated with people because everybody was sending things away and they also had that ad with the snowman you know walking in the air yeah that's come back a few years yeah yeah absolutely they've had some lovely ones as well on post so I think Irish brands have done really nicely are there any ads that your viewers have well I'm gonna put I'm gonna put that out now just to listeners and viewers for that matter let us know what your favorite ad is what it means to you and and why you like it and zero it's like 60 25 000 isn't Bonnie thanks for money for sharing your thoughts about Christmas ads I'm sure you know we all have our favorites and we you know and nothing we say it's gonna change anybody's mind and as you said earlier you know the Christmas means different things to different people maybe but you have a great Christmas um I will do and thank you very much for giving me the time today not at all great thank you so much John happy Christmas to you and your listeners bye bye check out these special offers at simpson supermarket letterkenny lion's teabags 240 pack 5 euro tittle crisps 12 pack 2 euro 50 cheerio 700 gram 2 euro niels flour 3 kg only 3 euro see the massive range of Christmas decorations in