Every single Christmas like clockwork, we’re all whipped up into a frenzy over the festive adverts, ready to dissect what John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and co have for us this year.
But there’s one that’s way more popular than all other brands put together – the Coca Cola advert.
When you hear those first bells ringing out, with that ever familiar chant of ‘Holidays are coming’, it truly feels like the festive period is here and you’re finally allowed to start rocking around your tree, belting out Mariah Carey, while burying yourself in mounds of tinsel and mulled wine.
Despite the advert barely changing over the last decade, it fills everyone with all kinds of cheer and instantly trends on Twitter, proclaiming ‘Christmas is officially here’.
And that might be why it’s so popular, because it’s so reliable and nostalgic. You know what you’re getting nearly every single year, and it’s heartwarming. There’s no teasing for weeks or months on end, no bets on which celebrity will be singing the tune, the premise has remained mostly the same – a big red branded truck driving through a town while everyone looks on joyously.
Sometimes Santa winks at the end, sometimes he doesn’t, but you’re left with the same happiness every time.
In fact, it’s so, so loved by fans that when there was a slight change to the song for 2019, viewers flocked to Twitter in their droves to discuss the new tune. It turns out you can mess with a lot of things, but you can’t mess with Coca Cola at Christmas.
While the fizzy drink company’s ad might be the most popular festive campaign, it’s not the only nostalgic clip we love. The Toys R Us clip is another highlight, with ‘there’s a magical place we’re on our way there’ transporting us back to our childhood of running around the aisles.
Sky also hopped on the nostalgia train and came for every single one of our emotions this year, giving us the ET reboot we didn’t know we were desperately crying out for.
Let’s be honest, all of these leave ‘modern’ adverts lying in the snow. As much as we’ve cooed over Excitable Edgar or a mystery man on the moon, it just doesn’t feel as magical anymore. Instead we feel burnt out by the same old gimmicks.
Although John Lewis might have spent millions trying to make us fall in love with their latest creations, all we really want is a big old slice of the past alongside a mince pie.
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