Irish Christmas ads are a sacred thing to many. It can really kick-start a person’s Christmas. When you see your favourite ad on TV, it’s officially the countdown to Christmas dinner and pints. Here are the best ones we’ve seen…
An Post: The Irish Christmas Ads’ Godfather
Goosebumps. Every time. And they’ve stopped showing it last year (OK, so the new one is pretty goddamn good also, but still…). AnPost’s famous ‘Walking In The Air’ advertisement which has been used since the mid-’80s, just fizzed with the cozy excitement that is Christmas. With the Snowman theme, the letters flying in through the letterbox, the furry animals looking up into the winter night’s sky? …Christmas personified if you ask me. Forevermore, Irish Christmas ads will be judged on this whopper classic.
Guinness
I’ve already mentioned the famous lines from this one in a previous blog (“Don’t forget to turn the lights out!”), because they’re simple, funny, and festive. It really proves the understanding of what makes a Christmas inherently ‘Irish.’ Showing us a white Christmas in various parts of the country, the ad paints this country of ours in a beautiful, white-light. The tagline is devastating: “Even at the home of the black stuff, we dream of a white one.” One of the better new Irish Christmas ads.
Spar Tree
The music really makes this one; that and some genuinely innovative, striking shots of iterations of the ‘Spar Tree.’ You’ll know the song. I know, people say that to you all the time, but with this one, it’s particularly true. The familiar whistling motif, the comforting boy/girl refrains, it just works. Written and recorded by Swedish group The Raveonettes, it just jingles along with Christmas in its bones. It goes to show how people identify with their ears as much as their eyes. And yet even still the visuals are immersive and really highlight our beautiful island so well. From the underwater-pool shot to the coastal sea-shot, it’s a tight, well edited and produced ‘ad.’ It really serves to show that the Spar tree is everywhere; nationwide and it’s true. A great example for Irish Christmas ads.
Denny’s
Christmas morning at my house is a big fry-up. And scalding tea. And crunchy toast. Anyways, you get the picture. So I could always relate to this little beauty from Denny’s. Because a fry-up is an integral part of the Christmas celebration in our house. We really feel a sense of the young girl’s wonderment at her first few Christmas’s. From discovering her presents that Santa left: “He’s a very good Santy!” to her eating a fry-up with her family all bound in festive harmony. Beautiful.
ESB
The annual Christmas pilgrimage home is a sacred rite of passage for students the world over. I just feel sad for the rest of the world that they can’t go home to an Irish Mammy. We chart the emotional, evocative journey home of a young Alan Hughes (now a TV presenter) from college in the big, bad city, back to his country home, and his Mother. Who, reveling in all that ESB can offer her has, in a moment of madness, turned every. Single. Light. And. Appliance. On. In. The. House! She must have turned cracked with the thought of her returning, prodigal son. I shiver to think of the electricity bill when it landed. Happy Christmas, indeed. An electrifying example for all Irish Christmas ads. Sorry.
Barrys Tea
It’s only a radio ad. But it sets to life a whole Christmas world. Take the two minutes to watch it if you don’t already know it. Brilliance. You won’t regret it. In terms of radio, its probably the best example for Irish Christmas ads.
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