Kibbe on Marketing: Jingles All the Way

As we are all painfully aware, holiday promotions begin even before the kids get their Halloween costumes on. Of course, those of us in the Northeast, our Halloween this year looked far more like Christmas that jack-o’-lantern time.

Here are some I found notable:

Funniest: Target’s Uber-Shopper – This woman is just hilarious! The character premiered last year I believe, so we saw her again on the weeks prior to Black Friday. The training Rambo-style for shopping, complete with the ‘80s sound track is destined to be a classic. The “Minute after Thanksgiving” and “Sabrina Soto in the Closet” spots are also laugh-out-loud funny.

Nastiest: Best Buy Shoppers Take on Santa – Best Buy shoppers out do Santa by purchasing their family’s “it” gift before he can deliver it. Then they stand there so smug on Christmas Eve. Santa’s a good sport for not turning them into a pile of snow. I must say, though the spots are definitely effective as they let potential shoppers know Best Buy has all the gifts under one roof, I feel sorry for Santa, not happy for the shoppers.

Most Effective: Lexus December to Remember Campaign – The folks at the luxury car company have made a perfect use out of their jingle (no pun intended), turning the simple melody into a cell ringtone, a music box, and a Guitar Hero song. Lexus elevated the importance the jingle, putting it front and center, bringing the branding into a cohesive whole. Alas, I’d be happy just to afford one of those ginormous car bows.

Honorable Mentions: I also love Chevy’s commercials with Santa  (Or are they really sad that the economy’s so bad “Nick” had to take a second gig looking for spiffs on selling cars?); Justin Bieber’s Black Friday Macy’s commercial with all the men screaming like Tweeners; and Ancestry.com’s Santa commercials – these are so funny, I’m not sure they’re real.

I’d love to hear which ones are your favorites, or favorite to hate!

We’ll be tucking in for a long winter’s nap, so Kibbe on Marketing will be back for the new year starting Jan. 9, 2012. Until then, have a Merry and Blessed Christmas, Love and Light on Hanukkah, and all the Peace of the Season and a Happy New Year!



Cindy Kibbe, an editor for a New England business publication for nearly a decade, can be reached at cindykibbe@comcast.net.