Holiday Magic Harder to Find in This Year's Ads

Nov. 25, 2009 — -- Remember the magic in catching a snowflake on your tongue? The very act of going out in the snow, tipping your head and chasing snowflakes made you part of the winter tableau and connected you with the holiday season. Ditto making a snowman or snow angels.

Each year there is a tug of war as we try to balance between the sentiment of the holidays and the merchandising of them. Television has always tackled the issue with holiday-themed entertainment that both dilutes the heavy volume of commercials as well as gives them a context. This year, however, is different -- consumers are on the move.

Instead of using the traditional pattern of shopping (i.e., newspaper circulars, magazines and TV ads) more people are online and using their smart mobile devices. That, coupled with an economy barely on the mend and many without jobs or fearing job losses, has significantly changed some aspects of this holiday shopping season.

So what's a marketer to do?

Many have stepped up their efforts to meet consumers where they are and where they are going. Most marketers have expanded and refined their online activity. Many have done the deep dive into social media.

Despite all that, few are reaching us with the impact that TV once had. A big reason may be that they are having a difficult time conjuring up the magic ever-present in the holiday marketing of old.

In 1948, Arthur Godfrey's popular show "Talent Scouts" was simulcast on both TV and Radio. Godfrey had a special skill as a pitchman to make fun of advertisers and their agencies but still create customers and loyalty for brands like Frigidaire, Lipton Tea, Pillsbury and more.

In his heyday, Ed Sullivan had an audience of between 45 million and 50 million people tuning in each week for his show. (That's four times Oprah Winfrey's average daily audience). That worked wonders for the show's sponsor, Lincoln-Mercury.