One time a year

OK, the holidays are upon us and so the advertising begins. It seems as though every year we begin to see the same old holiday commercials of years past. Can these multi-billion dollar companies not change it up a bit around the holidays? I KNOW I've purchased enough Hershey Kisses over the years that they could easily move past the bell ringing commercial. Or at least ring the bells to a new tune.

I was pleased to see a new Folger's Coffee commercial this year. The old one was a young 20 something son in an obviously late 80's early 90's wool sweater coming home and surprising the family on Christmas morning with the smell of fresh brewed Folger's. It tugged the heart strings to see Mom running down stairs to meet the absent son for the first couple years, but after 10, we just wondered why he was wearing the same ol' sweater. The new commercial is set abroad and I am personally glad to see the change.

I haven't seen a Campbell's soup ad yet this year, but if my memory serves, it's a snowman in the yard playing and when he comes in to eat his soup, the snow melts in clumps revealing a little freckled boy wearing plaid. Again, it's hard not to see the date in this one. I wonder if that little boy sits back every year as a man surrounded by his kids saying "See son, that there is your Dad." Does your kid go to school with the snow man dad? He just might.

Another commercial repeat this year is the M&M Santa faint commercial. Now this one is not quite as reused as the others, but we all know the end result.

I could go on and on. There's some sort of red-nosed elf Kleenex or Puffs commercial, the Coke commercial where Santa pauses and drinks a bottle of Coke - btw, who buys bottles anyway? I guess maybe my advertising/marketing background is rearing it's ugly head. I just wonder.... Do companies really think we forget from year to year and and just try to fool us into thinking these are brand new? Is the new talent fresh out of college for these huge advertising companies so jaded with video games and lack of creative play that they can come up with no better material? Or is the cost of producing commercials out-weighing the profit of these few holiday months? One may never know. But while you sit and ponder in your heart the questions I've challenged you with, may I leave you with this jewel. It will really tug at your heart strings.




Or not....