La chronique de Mark Tungate: The Joy Of Digital Giving

I’m not a mind reader, but I know what you’re thinking about. You’re thinking about shopping. It’s probably something to do with the time of the year: in theory, Christmas is a period of good cheer and peace on earth – but in practice, it’s all about the gifts. In our time-pressed, crowd-averse world, we tend to do a lot of our shopping online. So digital retailers are naturally keen to get our attention at this time of year. For example, take a look at this spot for a German online gift shop, Geschenkidee. Created by the Berlin agency Dojo, it won an Epica Award in November.     Not all online retailers take such a direct approach. This next spot from WCRS in the UK blends soft-focus imagery with gentle (very British) humour and a touch of poetry. The message – that you can find more personal gifts online – is an unusual one.   The festive season can be expensive and online retailers often portray themselves as shortcuts to a bargain. An ad for PriceChopper by DeVito/Verdi in New York depicts the quest for cheapness as a kind of heroism – before reassuring us that inexpensive is not necessarily sub-standard.   On the other hand, cutting corners can get you into trouble. Enter Mister Valmano, the star of this bizarre spot for the website of the same name. It was created by Scholz & Friends in Germany and is possibly the strangest Christmas ad you’ll ever see.   Since most online retailers are unable offer their users a brand experience through a physical store, they often present their sites as gateways to magical realms. An absence at the heart of the brand is filled with fantasy, as in this spot for the online footwear retailer Sarenza. Similarly, eBay and its agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners play with the idea that online shopping frees you from physical constraints, allowing you to “shop the world”. It’s an extremely active spot considering it’s aimed at convincing people to shop from their sofas. The convenience of online shopping appeals to parents trying to juggle work and childcare, so kids are frequent visitors to e-tail ads. Here a parental emergency is used to demonstrate Amazon’s next day delivery service. The agency is Joint in the UK. In this next ad, a curious child becomes a means of demonstrating the variety of goods available on Zappos. To shop online is also to shop on impulse – how often have things you don’t remember ordering appeared on your doorstep? This can be a pleasant surprise. Or not. Two Epica winners from the Norwegian agency Try capture the dilemma in considerable style.