Carl Jones, Senior Lecturer in Public Relations and Advertising, was interviewed by BBC Radio London about how advertising has shaped Christmas.
In the interview, Jones said: “Christmas has been evolving from being a Christian holiday to one that consumers from any religion can participate in by giving gifts. In the middle of the last century, UK advertising presented only white families sat next to a Christmas tree, and now in ads we see people from many different backgrounds and ethnicities.”
Jones discussed a variety of topics throughout the interview, including a brief history of branded Christmas messaging, John Lewis advertising, and how different countries celebrate the season through TV ads.
In his concluding remarks, he said: “Television is still king for Christmas advertising, even though new technologies are being invented and compete for media investment. Consumers need to think of TV as not only the large screen in the living room that mum and dad watch; TV is also looked at by many young people on portable electronic devices like tablets and mobile phones.
“However, when asked, many young people don’t consider seeing a program on a portable device to be ‘watching TV’ but they indeed are. That is why advertisers place such importance on the moving image and content creation in general.”
Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds.
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