Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and The Practice’s New York team are hoping to celebrate, American style! And of course, with Christmas not too far away either, brands are reveling in the holiday spirit by releasing some of the most inviting festive campaigns we’ve seen in a while.

You can’t have failed to watch John Lewis’s powerful and emotive Christmas campaign entitled ‘The Journey’, complete with haunting background ballad and message of love. The advert, created by agency Adam & Eve/DDB, is sweet and cathartic, although not quite the tearjerker as last year. Nevertheless, within minutes of its release it was already a trending topic on Twitter and shared 184,065 times in its launch week alone. It’s also been viewed more than 1.5 million times and has received over 1,300 comments on YouTube. John Lewis must be feeling pretty positive that we’re going to now engage in a raucous Christmas spending spree, and the advert’s heartfelt premise certainly makes us want to purchase some thoughtful goodies for our nearest and dearest.

And ‘love’ is definitely a perpetual theme for advertisers hoping to entice us all to spend big. We at The Practice are always eager to see what GAP’s holiday advert contains, and this year, the American clothing brand seem to have followed in the footsteps of that Christmas favourite, Love Actually, in an exploration of different types of love including ‘self love’, ‘young love’, and ‘friendship love’, to name a few. The energetic montage-style campaign, aptly entitled, ‘Love Comes in Every Shade’, definitely gave us that warm, fuzzy feeling! Plus, the accompanying series of photographic adverts featuring celebrities such as Michael J. Fox and Jack Huston, gives GAP extra kudos, making for a well-rounded campaign.

And for our New York-based team, Thanksgiving of course means Black Friday, and therefore a chance for retailers to step it up by advertising their best deals. Certainly, we know that our American clients who deal with e-commerce are looking to offer their customer base a whole range of exciting offers. And these have already started, as James Brown, director of merchant accounts for price-comparison site Price Grabber notes. He states: ‘The next phase really kicking off now is pre-Black Friday. Starting this weekend, you’ll see retailers like Toys R Us and Walmart doing deals. Everybody’s racing to get that wallet share early.’ True to form, American brands such as Old Navy are drawing in the crowds with celebrity endorsements. The company has taken on the advertiser’s favourite, George Takei, who sings a version of Aerosmith’s ‘I don’t want to miss a thing’, in the one-minute showcase. It’s not a well-constructed advert by any means, but we’re sure Takei’s recognizable voice and appeal will help encourage punters!

Which has been your favourite seasonal campaign so far? And are there any past advertisements that particularly come to mind for their powerful message, clever cinematography, or skilful use of branding? We’d love to hear your thoughts as always, so please tweet to and follow us on Twitter @PracticeDigital, and ‘like’ our Facebook page.