#MarketingTitbits – #ManOnTheMoon Launch, Retro Christmas Ads, Google+ Social Publishing

1. John Lewis sees a significant sales uplift following ‘Man on the Moon’ launch
The latest John Lewis Christmas ad, #ManOnTheMoon, appears to have generated an increase in the most important metric for any marketing campaign – sales. After its first week of release, the department store reported its first weekly sales total to surpass £100m this season – an increase of 1.5% from the previous year.

The much hyped Christmas ad received 22 million views in its first week – a total which makes it on track to become “even more popular” than last year’s ‘Monty the Penguin’. This Christmas, John Lewis teamed up with Age UK to raise awareness of the 1 million elderly people that go for over a month without speaking to anybody over the holiday period and beyond.

To read more on the success of #ManOnTheMoon, click here.

2. Are these the best retro Christmas ads of all time?

According to Anne Carpen, creative director of 18 Feet & Rising, some of the best Christmas ads are from a bygone era. The most challenging part for brands preparing their Christmas ad isn’t wading through numerous clichés, but instead finding the festive cheer during the summer season, when the campaign has to be prepared to get them ready to implement in the run up to Christmas.

One brand that didn’t fail to entertain their audience was OfficeMax with their ElfYourself campaign, and is still extremely popular today. DirecTV also managed to bring out the pleasant side of characters like Darth Vader, Chucky and Hannibal during the festive season with their Silent Night Christmas ad – even this would put a smile on any Scrooges face at Christmas.

Click here for the best retro Christmas ads of all time.

3. The new Google+ seeks the middle ground in social publishing

Many marketers are still confused as to what Google+ actually is; however, a major revamp has occurred in yet another effort to convince its most loyal users to log on. From the new change, Google+ is seeking a middle ground between Twitter and Medium, a place which revolves around an individual’s interests and a desire for micro-blogging.

Collections have been available to users for five months, but are now at the centre of focus on the revised network. The Collections will allow users to group posts together, encouraging users to create and share further content. In much the same was as Medium, Google+ have reinforced Communities on the network to inspire users to get involved through popular groups.

To view other Google+ changes, click here.