Vaughan Arnell covers Christmas

2022... what a year! What happened? Where did the love go? It feels like that part in a movie when the bad guys get the upper hand. 

A year in which we’ve seen the horrific invasion of Ukraine. The passing of a Queen. Two Prime Ministers were imposed on us. The economy is torn to pieces. All finished off with a World Cup where love can get you arrested.

With so much affection in my heart, I’ve decided to only bring the love into my Christmas review.

Six weeks ago, the Arnell household was rocked by the arrival of a beautiful baby boy. Without doubt the most intense production of my wife Anna’s and my life. A rollercoaster full of emotions with the final delivery of the most amazing game-changer.

Above: Vaughan Arnell's Christmas countdown, available in all good record stores now (probably).

With so much affection in my heart, I’ve decided to only bring the love into my Christmas review. As Frankie would say, ‘Make Love Your Goal’. So, here we go. In no particular order, here are some of my most loved moments of Christmas 2022.

Asda Have Your Elf A Merry Christmas

I’m going to start with one of my faves. There we were, sitting in The Mill, grading Sky Cinema, when a scream came from the back of the suite, “OMG, have you seen the Asda Christmas ad?”. We gathered round the screen as a wave of happiness flooded the room. 

We gathered round the screen as a wave of happiness flooded the room. 

I love this simple idea. Taking a classic Christmas movie like Elf and seamlessly weaving Will Farrell into his first day working in the Asda store. Beautifully crafted in every aspect. There’s such a wonderful clash between the down-to-earth British folk in Asda and Buddy’s larger than life American character. Great idea, great everything. Big love.

John Lewis The Beginner

The nation's most anticipated Christmas ad hit the right note this year. What a wonderful cause to highlight. Making a long-term commitment to support the futures of young people from care. It would seem disingenuous to make a film where everything was peachy-perfect this year, with so many people struggling with the rising cost of living.

My love goes out to the team who always have one of the hardest briefs of the year.

 Even the phrase ‘cost of living’ is a depressing one. Just existing on this earth is an expensive pastime. And to highlight the care story from a Dad’s point of view also gives us a fresh perspective. My love goes out to the team who always have one of the hardest briefs of the year.

TK Maxx Nail Christmas For Less

Big love for this spot. Beautifully shot, dripping with colour, it makes me want to lick the screen. The track Super Nature fits perfectly with those lush Guy Bourdain style images. Being a retailer, there’s always a danger of price points and products being shoved down our throats. Instead, they’ve created a world for TK Maxx and owned it. 

These little easter eggs all add to the tone of the piece.

In classic, quirky TK Maxx style there are moments of humour, like the hi-five from a sheep hoof with a ‘maaaaaaaa’ sound effect. These little easter eggs all add to the tone of the piece. You don’t question anything here, you just enjoy it. You guys nailed it.

Aldi Home Alone

Catherine O’Hara as a carrot recreating the iconic ‘KEVIN!!’ moment is always going to be a winner in my book. Home Alone, like Elf, is one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time. There are so many moments to love in this film. And huge props to the whole team for not shying away from the surprising erect carrot gag. 

I would really miss Kevin if he went out and got mashed one night.

With such a decadent spread of food, the partnership with Neighbourly feels important, since the pressure to deliver such a delicious Christmas meal will be much harder for people this year. The team serves up a lovely Christmas treat every year. I would really miss Kevin if he went out and got mashed one night.

Sainsbury Once Upon A Pudding

Alison Hammond is a national treasure. If you haven’t watched it yet, look up her interview with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling. Her charisma and energy are infectious. 

A rich festive feast.

A smart choice for this year's Sainsbury’s spot. A proper Christmas fairy tale told with some moments of humour and Alisons down to earth attitude shining through at the end. Overall, a rich festive feast.

Native Something Fresh

It’s so hard to get comedy right in just 30 seconds, especially at Christmas, when people usually opt for the emotional route. But humour is emotion. And these Native spots are bang on the bauble. 

These will cut through the season like a hot knife through brandy butter.

Surprising and funny, these will cut through the season like a hot knife through brandy butter. They’ve almost got a modern family tone to them, little slices of life that are stylishly captured. The product is nodded to without being heavy handed. I wanted to see more stories to smell after seeing these two.

Sports Direct Give Me Football

I loved seeing Christmas round at Eric’s, with a table of football legends. These series of films featuring Eric Cantona breathe life into the Sports Direct brand. A timeless and classic choice of celeb which will land perfectly with sports fans. 

I want to see what Eric does for New Year's Eve.

Sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world to get performances from sports stars, but these felt so natural and to make them funny is an even harder task. I want to see what Eric does for New Year's Eve.

Argos They’re Coming, Be Ready

Genius. I didn’t think I had any love left to give until this beauty wrapped its arms around me. What can I say: It’s full on, a great script, brought to life with such energy and style. I love the way it's photographed, capturing the scale of the scenes perfectly, and sprinkled with some lovely moments of character.

A great script, brought to life with such energy and style.

An avalanche of love, full of delicious people and they’re all coming, coming right at ya ! Super-big love for Argos. It makes me so happy.