This year's holiday jewelry ads

Last night, A Diamond is Forever (De Beers’ U.S. marketing team) hosted a special screening of the cinema-specific holiday commercial for the Everlon Diamond Knot Collection, followed by a complimentary viewing of the latest A Christmas Carol, complete with free popcorn, candy and what I would call “pop,” but most people in this area of the country would reference as “soda.”  

Unfortunately, I couldn’t go but was able to view the theater-ready spot on my own.  

Remember when you used to go to the movies and see only previews before the show started? Now I feel like I’m seeing more ads for products than coming attractions.

In any case, cinema advertising is here to stay.

After all, you can’t command TiVo to skip the commercials in a movie theater, and it’s good that De Beers and other jewelers are taking advantage of this medium in an economy where it’s going to take all the convincing they can muster to get consumers to part with their money.  

After wrestling with my slow computer software for a good 30 minutes, I finally was able to download what turned out to be a slightly longer version of the same Everlon commercial I’d already seen.

I think the commercial is fine, and the product, while not the most amazing design ever, is thankfully not something heart shaped (more on that later). 

But I’m not the only one to say that, overall, I prefer the “Hands” commercial. The music is better—“Stand By Me” vs. “I’ve Got You Babe"—and the concept of “Hands”—growing old together—is one that speaks to almost everyone.

View “Hands” here and judge for yourself.

Of course, with the holiday season just around the corner, and eager retailers running sales well out in front of Black Friday, De Beers isn’t the only one advertising.

There’s this spot for Zale’s new heart-within-a-heart jewelry.

I don’t understand this industry’s obsession with heart jewelry—to me it’s overdone—but apparently the public likes it, or they’d have found a new design motif a long time ago.

As for the commercial itself, I find it touching.

One thing Zales’ ads have done well recently is to send a message that expressing love through the gift of jewelry doesn’t have to be something that just couples do, as is shown by the sweet exchange between mother and child in the Shared Heart commercial.

Another good example of this is Zales’ recent