So we’ve reached that time of year. The Christmas cards are on the table, Christmas adverts are all over the screens in our living rooms and the even smaller screens in our pockets. We’ve decided to sift through the snowdrifts of magical marketing and have put together the UK Advent Advert Awards for 2018. Please note: these awards are based on my personal opinions and are just for fun. So without further ado, let’s get to it.

The award for Best Sentimental Ad goes to Boots’ Gifts That Get Them

This ad centres around the things that mums do for their sons and daughters, whether they like it or not. It struck a chord with us, and we imagine we’re not the only ones.

The award for Best Tongue-in-Cheek Ad goes to Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot – Cliffhanger

In a parody of Coca-Cola’s ‘Holidays are Coming’ advert, Kevin is at the wheel of a familiar light-adorned lorry. The carrot suddenly finds himself in a spot straight from The Italian Job, perched on a cliff edge with a cargo of carrots.

The award for the Funniest Ad goes to KFC

The surreal contrast between Ennio Morricone’s epic piece L’estasi dell’Oro and a solitary chicken navigating an epic snowscape tickled me just right.

The Cutest ad has to be Heathrow’s The Heathrow Bears Return

This cosy crowdpleaser sees a long-distance festive furry family reunited in a surprise visit for Christmas. The teddy bears definitely multiplied the adorable factor in this ad.

For the Best Animated Ad, we just had to go for the absolutely adorable Erste Group’s What would Christmas be without love?

Beautiful visuals, fantastic soundtrack and a downright cutesy story. What’s not to love?

Now onto the Cutest Animated Christmas Character award – McDonald’s #ReindeerReady advert.

The carrot-craving caribou are heart-meltingly adorable, especially given how expressive they are when Santa doesn’t return with any carrots. So leave some carrots out for them this year, alright?

Now for something from the other end of the scale…Creepiest Animated Christmas Character which goes to ‘The Christmas Fool’ from Argos’ advert this year.

The Elf on the Shelf has nothing on this unsettling creature that skitters about, looking to cause holiday havoc. While it’s cartoonishly-animated, the fleshy colour and Dobby the House-Elf look just don’t quite work. Argos drivers seem to be collecting them in the back of their vans, possibly to dissuade potential thieves.

The one that fell flat, the Christmas Turkey award goes to John Lewis (shocker!!)

In short, a not-so-festive offering that falls short on the lofty expectations from riding the coattails of some of the recent years’ adverts. More of an advert for Elton John’s upcoming tour with a tenuous link to Christmas. Certainly not the greatest Christmas advert they’ve ever done, especially after The Bear and the Hare from 2013, Monty the Penguin from 2014 and Buster the Boxer in 2016. Maybe we’re being a couple of Grinches here, maybe you might think otherwise.

This concludes our Advent Advert Awards for this year, thank you all for coming. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Rocket.

Words: Alex Penfold