Why some brands re-air the same spots year after year – and why it works
Well, it’s the holidays again. And you know what that means. Time to put on the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Roast some chestnuts over an open fire (responsibly). And settle in for everyone’s most treasured tradition of the year - the playing of annual holiday commercial classics.
We all have our favorites. A few stand out for me…
First off, the name alone is **chef’s kiss**🤌🤌
And yes. 1990. You read that right. This classic spot is THAT old.😳
The whole premise is an all-timer: A peaceful, tropical silhouette. A friendly whistling of a familiar tune. And then the big reveal - A palm tree bedecked in multi-color twinkle lights (classic, yet tasteful).
In advertising, oftentimes, simple is the hardest thing to do. But when it’s done right, boy, does it work. It cost less than $50,000 to produce this spot, and I can assure you it has more than paid itself off over the three and a half decades of usage.
And while it’s faded in rotation over the past few years, you can still catch it during the occasional football game. If memory serves me correctly, they’ve even utilized the creative for major point of sale activations within the past few seasons.
“Snowfall” The Pennsylvania Lottery, 1992
“Five Cash Five!” Admit it. You walked around your house singing that to yourself as a twelve year-old after you got done watching Jeopardy with your grandma. “Five Cash Five!” You did. Because we all did.
If you grew up in the Delaware Valley, then you know that this spot was the true harbinger of the Yuletide season. An absolute classic, it’s been running on regional TV and now streaming/digital with gusto for over 33 years.
So long in fact… that a number of years ago, for talent usage and resolution reasons, they had to shoot a shot-for-shot remake of the spot. Don’t believe me? Check it out
The spot so nice they filmed it twice. And you never even noticed!
“Holiday Bells” Hershey’s 1989
Another banger. (Get it? Bit of a stretch but it plays.)
This one is actually not just a favorite of mine, but also my longtime colleague and friend Megan Staub. So I’d like to ask her what she thinks makes this one so holly jolly:
“The image doesn’t change for the entire 15-second spot, which creates a peaceful and instantly timeless vibe. And most of us only hear handbells as part of a Christmas program – so the music and the calm visuals immediately create joyful nostalgia. And the little chocolate ringing its heart out at the end? My favorite."
Megs isn’t alone. There are a lot of people who are EXTREMELY passionate about this one. In fact, at the Meltwater Summit I attended earlier this year, I had the chance to see Paige Walker, Hershey’s head of Cultural Intelligence, speak, and she shared that a few seasons back - with the best of intentions - Hershey’s made a few tweaks to update the original spot. Check it - and one big fan’s (not Megan’s) reaction here
The result? Online Armageddon. Unbridled revolt. Riots in the streets.
…Well, not QUITE. But still, obviously some people were VERY unhappy that their favorite holiday spot had been augmented in any way, shape or form.
What is it about these spots that they endure so effortlessly year after year? Other holidays don’t yield commercials that have anywhere near this level of staying power. We wait all year to catch these, like an old friend home for Thanksgiving. We reinvent them when needed. And sometimes, we even fervently defend their perfection.
Is it their simplicity? The nostalgia? The way they make us remember the age we were the first time we saw them?
For that, I consulted our EVP Ed Mahlman. Ed is also the former Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Lottery and supervised the creative for the original “Snowfall” spot:
“The best brands build valuable relationships with customers. This commitment – built on consistently-strong products or services – is the foundation for long-term success. Our great clients make this promise. And with heartwarming, benefit-reminding spots like ‘Snowfall,’ brands like the Pennsylvania Lottery do, too.”
Well put, Ed. Ads are an extension of a brand’s conversation with consumers, and a beloved holiday spot can create years of positive brand associations along with yuletide memories.