Adland's Christmas Crackers

the task somewhat easier.

THE STRATEGY

The retailer is continuing in its "Argosing it" strategy as the solution
to the usual high-street hassles, while attempting to transform itself
into a destination where shoppers' Christmas wishes can come true. The
ads aim to talk to consumers in a more emotive manner to appeal to
hearts as well as minds.

THE CHALLENGE

Argos needs to address the invasion by supermarkets into non-food
categories and the consumer demand for more convenient shopping.
Christmas is shaping up to be dominated by multi-channel retail, with a
predicted 50 per cent rise in online shopping. Argos must think
innovatively about how it reacts to consumer demands.

THE VERDICTS

Gerry Moira - director of creativity, Euro RSCG London

It's Christmas time and the robber barons of Britain's high streets are
putting on their smiliest faces. "Christmas wishes from Argos"is by some
margin the most sugar-coated of this season's offerings. I was always
taught that retail advertising should match the retail experience, and
there's certainly a disconnect here between dad swinging on stars to
capture the Christmas wish and the grim Sangatte staff party experience
that is Argos at this time of year. Maybe this retail rule doesn't apply
in December.

David Hackworthy - strategy director, The Red Brick Road

The X-mas Factor verdict: I'm afraid you're going home.

Simon: I just don't get it, guys. You've got something different from
the others in the competition, but you've chosen to perform every
Christmas cliche in the book. I'm not buying it. Time to go home.

Louis: You are a bit cliched, guys, and as much as you know how to give
your audience what they want, I just don't think you've got the X-mas
Factor.

Ros Flounders - housewife and mother of two, Doncaster

I loved this ad. I like the way they have mixed traditional Christmas
time with the more up-to-date way of doing the Christmas shopping. There
is a lot of content in this ad (promoting everything being in one place,
that goods can be delivered to the door, that you can do your shopping
online in your own home, that there's a great variety of goods), and
they put all this across without losing the magical Christmas feeling. I
will definitely check it out.

BOOTS

THE ADS

Mother has persuaded David LaChapelle to bring his trademark kitsch
glamour to bear on one of the most traditional of high-street retailers.
Impossibly good looking desperate housewives go about the Christmas
chores while pampering and preening themselves, because ... 'tis the
season to be gorgeous.

THE STRATEGY

This year, Boots' advertising is focusing on beauty, allowing it to talk
about its hero(ine) gifts. Research showed that women's desire to look
good at Christmas was at odds with the endless responsibilities at the
time of year. The ads showcase a range of indulgent beauty treats, while
recognising the hard work the season entails.

THE CHALLENGE

Boots has traditionally opted for Christmas advertising showcasing its
three-for-two offers. It needs to attract more and younger customers,
showcase the quality of gifts on offer and exclusive brands available,
and drive a reappraisal of the store as a Christmas shopping
destination.

THE VERDICTS

Gerry Moira - director of creativity, Euro RSCG London

You're unlikely to see girls like these in your local Boots unless
they've popped in to renew their methadone prescriptions. But there's
something heroic about its heroin tongue-in-chic. The spot has a
sluttish, decadent, almost Brechtian glamour, and the turkey-fisting
scene will haunt me as I sit down gingerly to lunch on the 25th. There's
courage, too, in the choice of director. One surrenders a certain amount
of creative control with LaChapelle, but this looks ... gorgeous.

David Hackworthy - strategy director, The Red Brick Road

The X-mas Factor verdict: You're still in the competition.

Simon: When you came out on stage dressed up like that, I'll have to
admit, I was nervous. You seemed completely out of character. But you
nailed it. A totally unique tone of voice for the competition. You
proved you could try something different and get away with it. Loved
it.

Louis: I actually have to agree with Simon on this one. You took a
chance and you pulled it off. You might actually be the first women to
win the X-mas Factor.

Ros Flounders - housewife and mother of two, Doncaster

I really enjoyed watching this ad. It was very comical, eye-catching,
and had lots of colour and glamour. But I did think it was a shame that,
although there was a variety of gifts, they were mainly for women. This
ad will give the men plenty of ideas for gifts, but what about all the
other things we need at Christmas? I loved the ad, but it won't make me
go to Boots to do my shopping. It needs to show more about what it sells
in its stores.

WOOLWORTHS

THE ADS

Wooly and Worth are back with breaking Christmas news, and this time
they've got Westlife in tow for a spot of celebrity support. There's
more product and offers than you can shake a sprig of mistletoe at,
backing Woolworths' belief that it's impossible to overcook a Christmas
ad. The ads were created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

THE STRATEGY

Woolworths wants to cement its reputation as the store that's synonymous
with Christmas with a campaign that says it's impossible to overdo the
Christmas magic. The store is attempting to own the fun and magic of the
season, giving it an up-to-date twist, and reminding consumers what they
can discover in-store.

THE CHALLENGE

The retail environment is at its fiercest and most competitive at
Christmas. Woolworths is seen by its target audience as having
everything needed for a family Christmas, and more. However, in recent
years, its ownership of the territory has suffered, with competitors
moving in, and a growing amount of tactical price-led ads.

THE VERDICTS

Gerry Moira - director of creativity, Euro RSCG London

The agency that brought us Flat Eric now offer up Wooly 'n' Worth.
Perhaps not the progression in iconic brand puppetry BBH originally had
in mind, but the sheep and his dog are back, so they must be doing
something right. Here, Wooly's in charge of a runaway train, while Worth
tries his hand at news-reading with "hilarious results". I don't see why
it has to be so shouty. Sooty never said a word, yet his passing is
mourned by millions.

David Hackworthy - strategy director, The Red Brick Road

The X-mas Factor verdict: You'll have to sing again.

Louis: Good attempt, boys. You really tried to show us your full range
here. I didn't think that you were going to pull it off, but you nearly
did. The crowd loves you, and there's always a place for an act like you
in this competition.

Simon: That's ridiculous. You see a hundred campaigns like this outside
hotel bars all over the country. Listen, you're nice guys, and you try
hard, but you have to face the fact that there is simply much better
performers in the competition.

Ros Flounders - housewife and mother of two, Doncaster

I did not like this ad at all; it does absolutely nothing for me. I
found it quite irritating and annoying. I thought it was far too fast
and very noisy. Even though I watched it more than once, I still
couldn't tell you all it was advertising. It might appeal to a younger
audience, but it would not make me shop at Woolworths.

SAINSBURY'S

THE ADS

Jamie Oliver gets a Dickensian makeover from Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
and offers Sainsbury's shoppers a few tips on how to spice up Christmas
favourites such as mince pies, trifle and mulled wine, as he walks
through Ye Olde London Towne in a bid to make us try something new
today.

THE STRATEGY

Sainsbury's is attempting to balance consumers' love of the old
favourites - the mince pies and mulled wine - with their desire to make
the season as special as it can be. The campaign focuses on celebrating
the familiar, but giving it a twist: a festive take on the successful
"try something new today" strategy that was launched in September last
year.

THE CHALLENGE

Sainsbury's needs to maintain its momentum after enjoying its best-ever
Christmas season last year. Improving on that effort will be tough, with
the store out to attract Tesco, Asda and Morrisons' custom, while
discouraging its own shoppers from defecting to Waitrose and M& S.

THE VERDICTS

Gerry Moira - director of creativity, Euro RSCG London

"Try something new" Sainsbury's says, and this year you rather wish they
had. This is probably the most traditional of the Yuletide offerings, a
sort of "Dickens-plays-Moulin-Rouge-in-panto-land" production, featuring
the Blessed St Jamie. Disappointing that, in Oliver, they now have a
truly iconoclastic figure. Here, his plucky attempts at culinary
innovation are eventually overwhelmed by lashings of Christmas
cliche.

David Hackworthy - strategy director, The Red Brick Road

The X-mas Factor verdict: You'll have to sing again.

Louis: Don't get me wrong, you're a nice guy, Jamie. I'm just not sure
they picked the right campaign for you to perform this week. When you do
it from your heart it works every time, but I think you're a bit out of
character here. I felt you were going through the motions a bit. Not
your best work.

Sharon: Jamie, you can do no wrong in my eyes. You're charming, you're a
natural performer and I'd follow you anywhere. You can spice up my
Christmas any time you like.

Ros Flounders - housewife and mother of two, Doncaster

This ad shows how you can really put the fun into doing the Christmas
food shopping. It makes me want to try some different ways of cooking at
Christmas. Jamie Oliver is a top-class chef, but he shows that by
shopping at Sainsbury's, simple meals can be made more festive. To me,
this is what a supermarket ad should be - quick, simple and to the
point. I don't normally shop at Sainsbury's, but I will go in and have a
look at what they have got on offer this year.

MARKS & SPENCER

THE ADS

Twiggy and her model friends decide what to wear before setting out as
undercover agents on a secret mission to attend a Christmas concert on
ice. The star of the Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R's show is Shirley
Bassey, who belts out a fabulous version of Pink's Get the Party Started
to an M&S-clad crowd.

THE STRATEGY

The Marks & Spencer Christmas ad is designed to sell product.
Accordingly, it's packed full of items from M&S's ranges, from Bassey's
£150 "Magicwear" dress and Autograph menswear, to bath-time
luxuries. The campaign also aims to further cement M&S's place in the
hearts of the British public by entertaining the nation.

THE CHALLENGE

The M&S Christmas ad is becoming a national institution, and with the
public aware of the role advertising has had in reversing M&S's
fortunes, all eyes will be on this year's output. Despite the strength
of the half-year trading figures, the M&S chief executive Stuart Rose
says only a successful Christmas will lead him to use the "R" word -
recovery.

THE VERDICTS

Gerry Moira - director of creativity, Euro RSCG London

Speaking of runaway trains, the success juggernaut that is the restyled,
rejuvenated M&S has just pulled into Christmas Central with a Bond spoof
that makes other Bond spoofs look, well, not as good as this one. Twiggy
and company are back with skidoos, ice palaces, spy stuff and a lot of
product. M&S has been the guv'nor for a few seasons now, and this spot
cements that supremacy. This is a tribute to the talent and drive of the
female star of the new M&S advertising show, and I don't mean Bassey.
Take a bow, Jude.

David Hackworthy - strategy director, The Red Brick Road

The X-mas Factor verdict: You're still in the competition.

Sharon: I love, love, love this one. It's big, it's glamorous, it's just
what us girls love, and you hit all the notes perfectly. I don't really
notice the clothes, but I don't care.

Simon: I know Christmas is a time to go all out, but you're trying way
too hard here. There's so much going on, I just don't know where to
look. The public's probably going to love it, though.

Ros Flounders - housewife and mother of two, Doncaster

The M&S ad is one of my favourites this Christmas; it is very
sophisticated, with a very up-to-date and modern storyline. I like the
way it uses the celebrities to show off the wide range of glamorous and
colourful clothing, yet still manage to keep the Christmas feeling by
also showing a good range of Christmas products. I love to shop at M&S
and think this ad will tempt a lot of people through the doors this
Christmas.