It has always been argued that PR and advertising are two very different things.
The recent phenomenon of Christmas adverts has meant, however, that the two are becoming closer aligned. The hype around John Lewis’ 2015 Christmas advert was up and running long before the advert itself. I have still not actually seen the advert on television, but I don’t need to, as I have seen it so many times on social media.
Not to be outdone by John Lewis’ man on the moon, Sainsburys has introduced Mog, the accident-prone cat that nearly destroys Christmas. Both adverts have a strong moral message of togetherness over the festive period. Again, it was not from the television that I became aware of this advert, but on Facebook.
This morning, I found that a ‘news item’ on Daily Mail Online was actually all about the KwikFit Christmas advert, where children find Father Christmas in the waiting room while his sleigh is having a free winter check.
How does this make the news? The ‘ahhh factor’ and good social-media PR.
