How Christmas advertising can go wrong...
Quiz time!
When it comes to injecting a sprinkling of Christmas magic into your audio adverts, which one of these creative options is most likely to come with added complications?
If you said option four, you’d be right.
Although not without problems, the first three are fairly straightforward to implement, especially when it comes to obtaining broadcast clearance from the industry body for commercial radio.
Using a famous Christmas song, however? Not so much.
Well, actually, it depends.
If you just want to use Step Into Christmas as a backing track, you’re golden. As long as you get permission from Elton, that is.
If you’re thinking of using a more traditional carol to sell your message, this is where things get a little trickier.
Christmas carols tend to fall into one of two categories, secular or religious. Secular being those with little to no religious meaning, like Jingle Bells or We Wish You Merry Christmas, and religious being, well - religious - Silent Night and Away In A Manger being the most obvious.
Photo by Pixabay
When using religion as part of advertising creative, special care must always be taken, as using sacred themes or songs to promote products can easily be perceived as exploitative by some consumers. This caution is even more important during Christmastime, especially when the theme or song bears no relevance to the product being promoted. There are occasions where using a religious carol as background music can be acceptable (promoting a carol service for example) but altering its lyrics to align with a brand’s message is best avoided as it risks alienating or offending audiences, leading to complaints.
So that’s religious carols, but what about secular ones?
While some concerns may remain, there is a lot more flexibility when using non-religious carols, largely because the risk of public offense is significantly lower. So, if you are thinking about incorporating a carol into your promotion, it's advisable to go with those with a more secular leaning.
Having said this however, it’s always wise to seek expert guidance before proceeding with any Christmas creative as unexpected obstacles are more likely to arise at this time of year due to the religious association.
And that’s why we’re here…
To offer sage advice (three wise men pun not intended) on how to utilise festive songs, themes, and ideas successfully while steering clear of any potential controversy.
So why not get in touch and let us help you navigate the wonderland that is Christmas audio advertising.
Kathryn
