How A Space Grandad Proves The Success of Online Video in 2015
Nov 06, 2015
This year, John Lewis ditches the fluffy animals and challenges us to “show someone they’re loved this Christmas”, through the story of a little girl, Lily, trying to make contact with a man on the moon.
Despite its obvious scientific inaccuracies (that parcel needed A LOT more balloons on it), we can embrace the magic of the ad, which goes beyond simple festive cheer and highlights the fact that for many people, Christmas will be just another day spent alone. Thanks, John Lewis, for reducing The Creation Lab team to blubbing wrecks by 9.05 this morning…
It just goes to show the power of online video in 21st Century Britain. 10 years ago, Christmas had officially begun after the first airing of the Coca Cola advert; in 2015, it’s John Lewis’ £7m video campaign that sparks that warm, fuzzy, mince-pie-and-mulled-wine-by-the-fire feeling. What’s more interesting is that this year the ad was launched on Twitter, so the first views were online instead. Who knows when #JohnLewis started trending on Facebook, but we bet it was less than an hour after the video was released.
So, what are we getting at here? Is television advertising dead? Not at all, as Adele showed by unveiling her long-awaited new single during the X Factor adverts a few weeks ago. However, with the presence of social media to amplify content, no-one can dispute the influence of online video in today’s world. As a business, you should be considering online video as part of your marketing if you haven’t already.
It doesn’t have to be a multi-million pound campaign about a space Grandad (although there’s nothing stopping you I suppose…). Video is such a versatile format that there really is something for every business and every budget. If you feel inspired, have a chat to our video team here at The Creation Lab. Just give us a call and ask for Jack!