Oh sweet Christmas time.

We’ve had a festive feast of ads all featured around John Lewis. What fresh madness is this?! I’m pretty sure the copywriting fun hasn’t stopped there either. Who’d have thought, the baby Jesus is well and truly out of the crib and has been replaced with a piano.

But what an end line! I waited with bated breath, going, “So what? so what? hit me with your killer reason for visiting JL, JL.” And they did! Like Arthur Fowler in an Eastenders Christmas special, they hit me full in the face with a frying pan (or piano, in this case).

“Some gifts are more than just a gift”

Mais bien sur! Oh how we congratulated ourselves. Who’d have thought they’d pull that one out of the bag? Bravo, Adam & Eve DDB. Bravo. On brief, on brand and maybe on budget. And like their clever copywriter and art director, Twitter have also had some fun with it.

Waitrose, however. We like the humour. But you’re not Aldi or Lidl. You’re the premium one. Stollen is well placed, so maybe that begins to work. But their advert does feel slightly off brand – is the tone of voice right? We’re not sure. It’s certainly a departure from the ordinary, we’ll give you that. But it does feel a bit too Elton this year, know what I mean? ‘Stelton’ with a little whiff of 1970.

Naturally, I only ever talk about these two brands, because I have ideas above my station. Like being posh. Marks and Spencer left me a little cold with their Holly Willoughby rummaging around with a plug socket. That’s my recall of it anyway.

Sainsbury’s, well we can mention their nativity because it’s just like the last John Lewis ad. But the good news is, they’ve ditched the orange and black for real life. I can’t be doing with that. Bah copywriter.

Meanwhile, Kevin the carrot was back for Aldi. Now I didn’t like the ‘pee’ language last year, being the Mary Whitehouse mother that I am. But this year is working better. Right in the nuts gag and, get this, Santa with his sleigh! Now you’re talking. We won’t say anything about the evil parsnip’s dodgy French accent. Is this a nod to Brexit? Well baby, it works for me.

Because let’s face it, brands are having a hard time moving away from the whole B word. Let’s hope we get greater creative spirit for Christmas this year. This year seems to have seen the standard of creative work go down. Not sure anyone knows how to write a radio ad anymore, that’s for sure.

Marketing Week names the Heathrow Bear ad as the top ad for Christmas. Not sure why Heathrow has to advertise, surely it’s just one of those places that attracts footfall. But who cares, not this copywriter and certainly not gen pop. It’s been voted the best Christmas advert this year. The proposition is one that’s really clear from where I’m sitting – oh to be the copywriter working on that brief. Lovely jubbly.

The good news is, this year’s sackful of creative adverts seem less divisive that the other stuff that’s whirling around this winter. So here’s to a peaceful Christmas and let’s hope a very happy new year.