There have been some classic Irish Christmas ads over the years and many of them have stood the test of time. Dr Finola Doyle O'Neill is a historian at UCC and she joined the Brendan O'Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 to look at just why some ads work. (This piece includes excerpts from the conversation which have been edited for length and clarity - you can hear the discussion in full above.)
O'Neill said the appeal of these ads really comes down to nostalgia. "Normally, advertising is about selling a lifestyle, but we think about things like compelling storylines and emotional appeal at Christmas. It's all about tapping into memories, and tapping into our intrinsic Irish culture so Irish people have a very different palette at Christmas time."
She notes that emigration and family feature very heavily in these ads as "it's unfortunately part of our life cycle. We all wish that somebody would come around the corner and come back from Christmas. For example, my brother-in-law is in Darwin, Australia and would give anything for a cool Christmas at home. I think what's really important is that the family features very heavily at Christmas time. The family's embedded in the Irish constitution, and the centrality of the family is very important. Then, there's always the mammy waiting to bring the son back into the bosom of their home."
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Dusty Springfield's Goin' Back as used in the 1988 ESB Christmas ad
O'Neill descibes the 1988 ESB Christmas ad, which used Dusty Springfield's Goin' Back as the soundtrack and starred a young Alan Hughes, as "very evocative" and "a real classic". She says the setting was important: "remember the 1980s would've been a time when, as Brian Lenihan Snr said, our greatest export were our graduates. This was a very sad time of emigration and this idea of going back into the bosom of the family, and all the lights around was very evocative."
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Guinness Christmas ad
O'Neill describes the Guinness ad as "a really beautiful ad" and not just because the brand is embedded in our social DNA. "What's really important about this ad is its beauty. The creative designer behind this was Mal Stevenson and it takes iconic landmarks around Ireland. You see halfway up Patrick's Hill in Cork, when they're throwing snowballs at one another, and the background is that beautiful glistening Shandon Bells and you can almost see the goldie fish under it.
"This is very evocative, because it's beautiful. It's a sort of a memory. There's a magical stillness about it. It's a really, really beautiful ad. The English version of this has You Were Always on My Mind and it really has no resonance at all. This is beautifully created and crafted, and it's really more as a feeling, a memory that you evoke of Christmas time."
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage PreferencesFrom The Persuaders, Mal Stevenson tells the story of how the Guinness Christmas ad came together
O'Neill also has strong words for some of the other ads we're used to hearing at Christmastime. "I don't like the way Coca-Cola has appropriated Christmas, even though I have to say since 1867, the iconic image of Santa, is an American kind of construct, and not just Coca-Cola.
"But it is catchy and it does evoke Christmas to some people. The Americans are kind of masters at commercialising Christmas, and it goes back to 1867 when Macy's opened for the first time all of Christmas Eve until midnight, so that people get their last minute shopping in. Then of course you've got Miracle on 34th Street so you've got all of that synonymous with Christmas. But we've very different resonances about Christmas. I think I'd like to stick to the Irish ones, the ones that say something to us."
Speaking of which...
Barry's Tea Christmas radio ad
O'Neill describes the Barry's Tea ad as "gorgeous" because "it really does evoke that golden moment. What's really interesting about Barry's Tea is that all their ads have been very intergenerational. They move with the times. They've brought it through a recession, right up to Christmas. There's something really beautiful about it."
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline, the story behind the Barry's Tea Christmas radio ad which first aired in 1994
