If the festive films leave you cold, then there’s always the BBC for refuge. After all, aunty doesn’t carry advertising.
But hang on a minute. Like any other media owner, the BBC uses its own space to flog its wares.That’s advertising in my book.
So how has the Beeb responded to the Yuletide celebrations? With this pile of reindeer poo:
If you haven’t seen it, well, consider yourself lucky. In a nutshell, we have a collection of celebs, led by David Jason, in the world’s biggest wardrobe of vomit-inducing knitwear, gathered round the piano belting out "Consider Yourself One Of Us."
It's sicklier than a ton of Quality Street. The sentimentality of the sentiment is offset by some slapstick "humour". Ho bloody ho.
At least the creators give you time to go to the toilet and be sick – the ad goes on (and on and on) for 120 seconds.
Now, gentle reader, you may be thinking I’ve gone all Scroogey. After all, on YouTube, the ad has many more "likes" than "get this off my screen right now!" For me, that just confirms that some people’s taste is for the tasteless.
Maybe they also like chewing on their own bile.
But let’s close on a jollier note. Thanks to everyone for reading my rantings during 2011 and have a great Christmas!
Simon S Kershaw is a creative consultant and a former creative director at Craik Jones