The ‘festive’ season might also be described as the ‘restive’ season for both consumers and businesses alike; an intense time with its own inherent pressures. While buying is at its peak, so is advertising and far too many clamber about in the clutter rather than leap out from it. How do you make sure your advertising stands out at Christmas? Well, there are a few things to avoid – bells, holly, red ribbons, snow, small pine trees, fat men with white beards, and pretty much anything red or green. In other words, to stand out at Christmas, it often pays to avoid Christmas altogether. You wouldn’t mimic your competitors at any other time of the year, so why do it now?
This doesn’t mean you have to come across as an ungrateful Scrooge. Just be different! Go black and white, pink or purple. Cut words like ‘festive’, ‘merry’, and ‘Xmas’ completely from your advertising vocabulary and find alternative words and phrases that stand out from the traditional Christmas clichés. Christmas print advertisements are predominantly a jumble of products and price points, so go to the other extreme by using an outrageous amount of white space. Similarly, Christmas television commercials are a blur of jingling bells and jolly ditties, so leap from the television by using no music at all! If your competitors have gone all ‘retail’ and hysterical, be an oasis of calm and sophistication. Above all, stay rational throughout the Silly Season, adopt the services of a reputable ad agency and all your Christmases may well come at once.
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