Source: TK Maxx – “The Sing-Song”
The RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge Goes Global: Week 4
While last week’s faceoff included retailers from the European mainland, the competitors this time around are based in the U.K. with the off-price TK Maxx chain going up against the grocer, Waitrose.
TK Maxx’s “Sing-Song” combines a Christmas singalong among friends with images of the many items that consumers can purchase from the chain’s stores. While “Sing Song” has not reached the viral status of other spots in this year’s competition, the commercial’s 90,000+ views on YouTube is nothing to humbug about.
Waitrose’s “#HomeForChristmas” animated commercial features a brave robin flying through torturous conditions to make it back to England for Christmas where a young girl awaits the bird’s return. The spot has hit home with many as evidenced by the 3.3+ million views it has on YouTube to date.
TK Maxx “Sing-Song”
Waitrose “#HomeForChristmas”
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What is your critique of TK Maxx’s “Sing-Song” and Waitrose’s “#HomeForChristmas”? Which do you think is the more effective of the two? Would these spots work for a U.S. retailer if presented to a U.S. audience?
Poll
BrainTrust
Ed Rosenbaum
CEO, The Customer Service Rainmaker, Rainmaker Solutions
Lee Kent
Principal, Your Retail Authority, LLC
I don’t care for either spot. Neither does a good job of supporting the core story of either retailer. Neither captures the spirit of the holidays, although the Waitrose spot tries. Neither would inspire me to shop at the respective stores.
Both were good and both served the purpose intended. TK Maxx, while showing us why to shop there, fell short of grabbing my interest. Waitrose was more of a tug at our hearts. My choice is Waitrose this week.
TK Maxx’s commercial was comical but does not sell any product. Waitrose’s was a little long and provides a holiday message just not for Waitrose. I don’t think either would do much for American retailers or customers. If I have to pick one over the other I pick Waitrose.
I’m not too sure I like either one of them, but if I had to choose I guess I’d opt for Waitrose’s — no surprise — schmaltzy “Will the bird get home?” approach over TK Maxx’s rather frightening vision of Christmas madness. As to which would work for a U.S. retailer I’d say TK Maxx’s, but only because it’s a minute shorter.
The Waitrose story caught me up but said little about the brand and the TK Maxx advertisement said nothing about the brand to me. I am beginning to think that advertising is a little off the mark these days. All of them are about emotional stories or quirky stuff that yes, grabs our attention for a second, but does not leave any lasting memory of the brand. That is supposed to make us want to shop there.
Or is that just me? But, that’s my 2 cents.
I’m with Max on this. Both spots fell short of supporting their brand and/or truly highlighting the products they sell. I agree Christmas is a great time to get together with friends and share a meal with friends and family but in neither case did the ad pull at the heartstrings.
As I noted before, British advertisements are about the feeling and not the product. These brands have been around for a very long time. That said, I like the Waitrose advertisement more than the TK Maxx advertisement. To what has been noted already, these would really not work in the U.S. as the subtlety would not be read by a lot of the consumers.
The link with Christmas was weak in both commercials. I was not a fan of either one but I learned long ago that I do not understand the British perspective on ads, so I can’t presume to assess the effectiveness of either.
I like the Maxx ad better, only because it’s more memorable. The ad is not great at product or any of the P’s for that matter, but it’s got some good contextual value.
Re: Waitrose: what’s with the Brits and all the heart-felt ads? Geez, you’d think they were down about something and needed a good cry. Maybe we all do!
Waitrose wins. More to the point, TKM loses. There was nothing about the ad I liked (Sorry guys, I don’t even like your name … it seems to me like a rip-off of T.J. Max).
Neither one was impressive. While both were somewhat entertaining, there was little brand identity. Would not recommend either spot for U.S. retailers. We have seen better in this challenge.
I’ll go with TK Maxx. But, once again, the extreme degree to which the creative teams “imply” product is a serious lost opportunity. And the long, long lead time before we know the brand? Serious issue in both spots.
That said the TK Maxx commercial continues a product theme somewhat throughout — showing things that (if the creative were better) might help draw people to the store. The Waitrose spot, while an emotional story, waits far too long before we know what it’s about (unless that specific pie is a canonical symbol of their stores — but I’m not that culturally tuned in).
Still, these examples remind me of how far that art school versions of creativity have taken over advertising with theories of artistic perfection that too often impede, rather than improve, message and market impact (short AND long term).