3 Holiday Commercials That Get It Right

Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff looks at how the new “Real is Rare” ads stack up against spots from Apple, the New York Lottery and Kay Jewelers.

Michelle Graff michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com

A screenshot from “The Reveal,” one of the two new commercials from the Diamond Producers Association’s “Real is Rare” campaign. The commercials were shot in Berlin and, like the first two videos for “Real is Rare,” developed in conjunction with Mother New York.

A few weeks ago, the Diamond Producers Association debuted the two newest commercials in the “Real is Rare campaign: “The Reveal” and “The Other Party.”

For those who aren’t aware, the DPA is the mining company-backed association created in 2015 to promote mined diamonds, and “Real is Rare” is the marketing campaign launched by the DPA last fall to help fill the generic diamond advertising void created when De Beers, very understandably, pulled back.

Earlier this month, the DPA rolled out the second phase of the campaign with “The Reveal,” which premiered Nov. 16 during the Latin Grammy Awards on Univision, and “The Other Party,” which debuted Nov. 19 during the American Music Awards on ABC.

WATCH: “The Reveal” from the “Real is Rare” Campaign

DPA Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Marquardt told me in an interview last week that these new commercials were designed to appeal to a slightly older audience than “Runaways” and “Wild & Kind,” the first two commercials released under the campaign.

They also show couples in different life stages.

The couple in “The Reveal” is slightly older and married, and the viewer sees them coming home together after a party. In “The Other Party,” they are engaged and out together at dinner, holding hands under the table.

WATCH: “The Other Party” from the “Real is Rare” Campaign
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Marquardt said these two commercials will run into 2018 on TV as well as online, in movie theaters and out-of-home. There is a print component as well, starting with ads in People magazine. Retailers can access images from the campaign for their own use on the trade portal section of DiamondProducers.com at no cost.

I think it’s fair to say that the first two commercials for “Real is Rare” were met with mixed reviews in the industry. Some people loved them, some felt it too contrived (meaning it was trying too hard to be “cool” in an effort to appeal to a younger generation) or lacking appeal for middle America, while others were happy just to see commercials for diamonds on TV again.

As far as the new ads go, I have to be honest and say, in my opinion, they are a little “meh.”

I don’t want to step on the toes of my colleague Rob Bates, as I know he does a very well-received roundup of the best holiday jewelry commercials every year, but I do want to note a couple commercials

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that, for me, evoke more emotion than the DPA spots.

First, I think Apple’s holiday commercial, called “Sway,” is incredibly romantic and touching, and does a nice job of marketing multiple products--Apple Music/iTunes, the iPhone and the company’s wireless earbuds.

Watch: Apple’s “Sway” Commercial
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I might bump into a handsome gentleman on the street while listening to music on earbuds that also will not get tangled or caught on anything when I run? Sign me up for a pair, please.

As a cat lover, I also really enjoy the New York Lottery holiday commercial featuring the convenience store cat that drops down the shop owner’s chimney (with lottery tickets for him, of course). It’s not topping “Sweet Million: Sleepy Time” for me but, really, what could?

Watch: New York Lottery’s “Bodega Cat” Commercial
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“Bodega Cat” is sweet, cute, cozy and comforting; it screams holiday time. It also reminds me to buy lottery tickets for co-workers for the holidays while stoking the internal dilemma I’ve been wrestling with for years: I’d like to have a cat, but I can’t think of a good place in my apartment for the litter box.

As far as jewelry commercials go, my favorite among the ones I’ve seen is “Flying Blind” from Signet for Kay Jewelers, which is helping bring an end to my perpetual cringing over the retailer’s spot from a few years back featuring a grown woman who was scared of a thunderstorm. Just, no.

Watch: Signet Jewelers’ “Flying Blind”
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I like the music, the couple and the idea of having someone to go on adventures with, even if it’s just to Paris, Texas.

What commercials get a reaction out of you? And, what do you think of the newest commercials from the Diamond Producers Association?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments below or email me at michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com.

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.