Ep 35: Reacting to Christmas Ads
Shownotes
It’s the last episode of 2023! Join Joyann as she reacts to some of Jade’s favourite Christmas ads and as they discuss how to do an inclusive Christmas ad right.
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Ritz The Gathering: Where There's Love, There's Family
Transcript
Joyann Boyce 0:04
Welcome, and welcome back to the Marketing Made Inclusive podcast. I am going to do this upfront because I always forget to do it. And okay, it is our last podcast of 2023. And if you're in a given season, not if, because I know you're in the giving season. Subscribe, share it with a friend. You know, check out our YouTube channel or subscribe wherever you're listening to podcasts. Because that's how we know that we're reaching people and we're getting out there. But any here and for the marketers, you notice that's mean a lot. Because it helps us anyways, as a personal, personal request personal request. But this episode, it's going to be myself and Jade. Hey Jade.
Jade Pett 0:55
Hey.
Joyann Boyce 0:57
how are you feeling about this festive season?
Jade Pett 1:00
I'm feeling good. I've been looking forward to it. Actually, I think that a little bit of cheer was definitely needed this year.
Joyann Boyce 1:07
Oof. This year, this year, has been a year 2023 has been a year. So no need to cover all the things. If you're not living in 2023 and you're listening to this, they look at the history books. There's a lot going on right now. But the one thing that does cheer us up at this time of year is Christmas ads. And I think we did it last year as well. We talked about our favourite Christmas ads. We did?
Jade Pett 1:40
I think so. I definitely remember done a lot of research into Christmas stars is one of the things that I get really excited to research to see what the new ones out I like in how they compared to past ads.
Joyann Boyce 1:50
And they're so iconic. Like I remember last year one of the ads that I really enjoyed was, I believe it was Marks and Spencer’s they always do good ads. But it was like a party and then they had people coming in and just
Jade Pett 2:04
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 2:05
It was one of those ones where you just felt the cheer and then obviously the world we work and you just start spotting inclusion everywhere and you're like, oh yes representation, Love it. Love it. Love it. but this year I challenged you to bring it to us I haven't seen which I know can be tricky because I look at them a lot. But we're going to look at two Christmas ads and if you want to see them and you're listening to the audio version, head on over to our YouTube and you'll be able to see them, but we'll also put the links so you can watch them on your own in the shownotes. Should we watch it and then give our thoughts on the first one? I've got it open.
Yeah, I think so.
Okay. We won't intro it but we'll, we'll watch it and then we'll describe it and give our thoughts.
Okie dokie.
okay
okay
all right. Okay, now we're no okay. So we're going to watch the ad and then it will give you our thoughts this first one is a, I think they're both ads by Ritz.
They're both by Ritz.
Oh, that is so. Yes.
Jade Pett 5:20
I was just watching your reaction the whole time.
Joyann Boyce 5:24
Okay, so for those who didn't see it, it essentially started off just like, almost you can see Christmas, moments that out of context, you could just see you're following various people's story. And, and it was just kind of like how different people spend Christmas and, you know, there was a grandmother who wasn't with her family, but had a lot of friends. There was a Black were individual put on lipstick and then you see that he's welcomed his partner to a party. I think that, I don't know if that was a, to represent like a homeless shelter with the little girl.
Yeah.
And then she shares her Ritz with cheese with someone else. Oh.
Jade Pett 6:18
That's one of my like, ultimate favourite Christmas ads.
Joyann Boyce 6:22
Oh, that, that.
Jade Pett 6:26
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 6:28
Oh, okay. Jade, thoughts.
Jade Pett 6:32
Well, I love it for so many reasons. I don't think it's like a cheesy Christmas ad. I think it's genuinely heartfelt. I think it's something a lot of people can relate to, you know, you want spend time with other people. Not everyone has family nearby. And it's also just as a product placement, like the I didn't notice the person watch it. But that product placement in the beginning, the Ritz crackers in the beginning was so subtle, I think it like, you wouldn't know it was rich right off the bat. But then also from our point of view, inclusion, it's got so much from skin tones, cultures, ages, socio-economic backgrounds, LGBTQ+, it's just, it's got, it's got so much. It's got everything.
Joyann Boyce 7:12
It's got so much. And like, the story within it is just so deep, but so subtle.
Jade Pett 7:22
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 7:24
But oh, the other bit as well, they could have easily fallen into a stereotype and made it where the LGBT person was the person who was without a home.
Jade Pett 7:37
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 7:38
They could have fallen into some assumptions people make about communities like that the grandmother was going to be alone completely. And I think the did play on that actually. Because at the start before you know what's happening, you're acting on your biases mentally.
Jade Pett 7:55
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 7:56
And that, that play on okay, if someone is watching this, they'd assume the fact that grandmother is seen by, over the iPad, that the grandmother is gonna spend Christmas alone. That’s your first assumption.
Yeah,
Someone putting on, a Black queer man putting on lipstick at Christmas in a mirror. You're assuming he's taking a risk, or he's gonna, you're assuming something that it's traumatic. It plays on the biases we have. And then it's like, ah, ha, ha, like a switcharoo.
Jade Pett 8:37
That's really good point. Especially with the older woman I love that she had like a bunch of older friends, and they'll have their own little party and they're having like, a really good time, because I think older people are done so dirty so often in ads. I love that she got that like, that really lovely moment.
Joyann Boyce 8:53
Yeah, they have. Yeah. Especially when it comes to anything around loneliness. And this is the, this is the balancing act as well because statistically, older people and quite a few people after, especially after the pandemic, do suffer from loneliness, and Christmas can be a very difficult time, but not everyone. And sometimes, even if that's a statistical state, doesn't mean you can't show people there's a way to do it.
Jade Pett 9:23
Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's the whole point of ad, right? It's like, you don't have to be with your literal blood family. You can make new families and new traditions, which I think is like a really clever marketing scheme as well.
Joyann Boyce 9:36
Beacasue with all the traditions there's Ritz and that is another interesting thing, because then you're tying that any tradition you're making. Because Ritz is not a traditional Christmas snack for us anyways, here and in Britain. But you're making that connection you're tying that emotion of sharing Ritz and having it at Christmas to making your own traditions and breaking the norms. Because something for me that would have been, in terms of my family, would have been a little bit more suitable a little bit Ferrero Rocher. You know, that is very Christmas tradition. But the idea of like no you can share it with and it's made to be shareable. I like that.
Jade Pett 10:26
And like party food. Hors d'oeuvres. Which they had in the, which is what they used it for.
Joyann Boyce 10:32
That was other thing they did show it in different use cases,
Jade Pett 10:36
Contexts. Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 10:39
So you're not just seeing it, it's not just like, and you can't really do that with Ferrero Rocher. If it was a Ferrero Rocher ad it would just be the aspect of giving it versus you know, having an avocado, having it with cheese. I can't remember what the other one was.
Jade Pett 10:55
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 10:57
That was, that was, all of that in a minute. Listen.
Jade Pett 11:00
I know.
Joyann Boyce 11:03
A lot of things can be said about the marketing sector and the comms and advertising but honestly times like these when I see things done so well. It really just reignites my, my passion and my joy for it.
Jade Pett 11:19
Yeah, yeah, I'm excited for you to see the next one.
Joyann Boyce 11:22
Okay. I was already holding my tears, I was already holding tears. Again if you haven't seen these ads we're talking about, because that one was 2020 wasn't it?
Jade Pett 11:33
Mhmm.
Joyann Boyce 11:34
So make sure you go and check this out. The other one is also read and this one is called 'A Taste of Welcome.' Jade your anticipation of me almost crying is too much.
Hold on. I need to watch it again. There was so, I.
Jade Pett 12:43
Yeah, It's packed.
Joyann Boyce 12:45
It's packed. It is packed. Like I like it but at the same time I feel like this is when people like oh inclusive marketing you have to include everyone. This really did try. Okay, I'm watching it again because I need to I need to catch on.
Yeah, yeah. That is not definitive review, but, there was just so many things that was clashed in there. That something could relate to, for 30 seconds as well. That’s a lot.
Jade Pett 14:04
Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot and it's, it's subtle as well. Like it's not, it doesn't feel like it's punch in the face with it necessarily like the layers of inclusion there. It just is like snapshots but because it's snapshots consistently, it like works. I feel like it just like flows from one into the next into the next.
Joyann Boyce 14:25
And you will have to know the cultural references because I only know a few. And they had the traditional Christmas. But they had Kwanzaa, I didn't know which was representing it. But then they had I believe it's called a dreidel where you spin.
Jade Pett 14:43
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 14:44
And then some form of representation Chinese New Year, I'm not sure if the lanterns is particularly connected to that. But all those particular bits and saying hey, whatever you're celebrating when you're celebrating bring some Ritz.
Jade Pett 15:00
Yeah. And like we were saying the last time the different use cases like it's used in so many different ways. And it's again, it's subtle, like you wouldn't off the top of your head necessarily automatically connect to Ritz. But then when you look back, you're like Ritz was everywhere.
Joyann Boyce 15:13
It was everywhere. And it wasn't as, some aspects of it wasn't as direct as the first one. I think this is, so, is that more recent?
Jade Pett 15:25
I believe so. Yes.
Joyann Boyce 15:26
Okay. I feel like that those two ads are a clear progression.
Jade Pett 15:31
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 15:32
Of inclusive marketing, where the first one was, yes, this person is LGBT. Yes, this person is old, yes, this person is this, just like, bam, bam, bam, beautiful, amazing, emotional story, but still kind of very clear boxes. I come away from the ad and I'm thinking the girl that was introducing the other girl to the older woman, was that a couple or was that friends? Or was that? Like, it's down for interpretation, but it still felt represented, either you representing a lesbian couple or you represented best friends at Christmas.
Jade Pett 16:08
Yeah, I completely agree.
Joyann Boyce 16:11
I, they are the one that threw me though, was, I think the last shot of the woman of East Asian descent. And it felt like they were trying to represent the Chinese New Year, but I, to me, it could have been stronger, but it was so much. It's one of those ones where I think, I can't remember what year it was. But a while ago, we had, I think was Marks and Spencer’s who would do like a Christmas Story series.
Jade Pett 16:39
Okay.
Joyann Boyce 16:40
Where they would start and then the next year would be another bit to the story.
Jade Pett 16:45
Okay.
Joyann Boyce 16:46
I think that would be a good base of a Ritz festive, because there's not Christmas, it's festive series. Where they spin off. And they do Ritz in each of those occasions that they showed.
Jade Pett 17:05
Yeah, I love that. Yeah, I mean, just the sheer fact that it's not just Christmas, because I'm, I'm assuming Ritz is a Western company. And it's obviously Christmas. So Christmas centric, like we just, like other religious festivals, other kind of holidays aren't acknowledged, even though they're still very much present within Western society. So I love that they actually, like were bold enough to like include all of them. Like I think this year, I've started seeing more and more like Tesco’s, I think Eid Mubarak, the samosas and I just I remember so vividly. It's like Alia's worth the wait samosas and they have like recipes on their website. So like slowly cultures, like ads has started including more cultures, but I think this was like last year, or like the year before. So Ritz were like ahead of the game.
Joyann Boyce 17:56
It's interesting, it would be amazing to see the data on one where they show that and the reception to it. And we have to see if we can find the one for this year. Because if that's the progression, especially in a time where doing this is going against the norm, unfortunately. And it is putting your brand and making a stance, especially for a company I believe that are majority American market, it's big. The thing I do here, though, and it's ringing in the back of my brain, because it's a challenge that I've heard in the past around what if the demographic market is not the individuals that are included in the campaign? What I'm liking about both of these is that they're not necessarily saying the Ritz is part of the tradition. But they’re saying they want to be.
Jade Pett 19:05
Yeah. Yeah. Makes sense.
Joyann Boyce 19:08
Because I think that might be to assume, you know, Ritz is on the table during Chinese New Year, or during Kwanzaa or anything is a big assumption. Like it's a good brand, but I don't know how much you can season it, you know?
Jade Pett 19:22
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 19:24
How much you could sprinkle it on top of macaroni pie. That's a Trinidadian dish for anyone who doesn't know. But yeah, it is them and it feels it feels like and it'd be amazing to know what research they did before they took this approach, that they were like, what, where are we in terms of these cultures? And what are we going to say in order to be like, hey, we recognise the culture, the festive, the whatever the environment is. And as a company, we want to be part of it.
Jade Pett 19:59
Yeah. Yeah, that's interesting. It's a good, I like it though. I like that tape could be in like, maybe we could be though, let us in.
Joyann Boyce 20:11
Like hey. Take, take a box of Ritz too.
Jade Pett 20:16
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 20:17
I really, I prefer it, I prefer because there's a different vibe because like I mentioned before Marks and Spencer’s is the ads that stick in my head when it comes to Christmas campaigns. And their ads have a little more of a tone of we know you want us at your Christmas table. We're already going to be there. But here's the options of things. It's a little bit more.
Jade Pett 20:39
Yeah.
Joyann Boyce 20:39
I dare to say arrogant. And they're somewhat like they're allowed to be the already seen as a brand that people want to have.
Jade Pett 20:51
Yeah, yeah. Especially at Christmas time.
Joyann Boyce 20:54
So they can be like, you know what, you could have this Christmas pudding from us or this one. But here's the fancy expensive one you really want.
Jade Pett 21:04
Yeah, yeah.
Joyann Boyce 21:09
They're campaigns are like, oh, gosh, that brought such a smile to my face. Thank you so much, Jade.
Jade Pett 21:17
They're my favourite reason.
Joyann Boyce 21:19
But this is our last episode of 2023. Not our last one of the season. We got more to come. But you'll be hearing them in the new year. was just so excited. We're excited for because I've recorded quite a few of them already. And I'm very excited what's coming. But we're excited to hear from you. Like, send us in our DMS, on LinkedIn, any kind of festive things you're seeing, particularly if you're not in the UK. I want to know what's going on. I know we have a large listenership in France. I want to know what's the vibe that, I might need Google Translate to understand it, but I can still shed it here. In French, I don't know if you cry in other languages. But that may not be a thing. Share the ads you have for your festive season with us. And this has been an amazing year. Thank you so much for listening to the Marketing Made Inclusive podcast. You can find us on all your podcast listening devices. And you can also find us on YouTube to watch the ads that we just reacted to. If you're not on YouTube, the links with ads will be in the show notes and you can find Jade
Jade Pett 22:37
On LinkedIn at Jade Pett.
Joyann Boyce 22:40
And myself I'm all over the internet at J O Y A N N B O Y C E. Thank you so much for listening to marketing made inclusive. See you in 2024.
