“Good ads are for life, not just for Christmas.”

Throughout the year, people do their best to avoid advertising. They’ll skip, unsubscribe, forward-wind and even pay money to be rid of it.

9 in 10 people in the UK either dislike adverts or don’t care about them.

According to surveys by SurveyMonkey and YouGov, 74% of people think there are too many of them and 70% think the ones they see online are, frankly, just annoying.

But there’s one time of year when all this changes…. When haters become lovers. When avoiders become participants. When sceptics become evangelists (well, steady on).

And that time of year, is, of course, Christmas.

CHRISTMAAAAAAAS.

A new study by Kantar has found that nearly 60% of people say they love Christmas TV ads. And 56% say they actually ‘really look forward to seeing Christmas ads on TV’.

So, hang on, what’s going on? What makes Christmas time so different?

Our team took to the streets of Bristol to get some answers.

We found that people see a shift in advertising quality at Christmas time. Rather than considering them invasive, repetitive, annoying, they see them as emotive, insightful, engaging.

Reasons for this include a focus on telling stories, a sense of nostalgia, an ability to tap into real feelings, high quality production. Plus, Bristolians believe a banging tune never goes amiss.

Let’s be honest, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. How long have the likes of Binet and Field waved the flag for a more emotional, multi-sensorial approach to advertising? Have told us that famous, creatively awarded campaigns generate far higher long-term ROI than rational marketing?

Yet, it seems that most of the marketing world forgets this fact until the tinsel is brought down from the attic.

So, if you’re making any marketing resolutions in the new year, we urge you to take the meaning of Christmas (ads) and follow it all year round.