As the festive ad season rolls around for another year and brands try to pull at our…

As the festive ad season rolls around for another year and brands try to pull at our heartstrings, there is one brand that has been doing something remarkably different with its Christmas campaigns over the past few years.

In 2016, Aldi decided to pivot away from the traditional, emotional Christmas ads and chose humour over tears. They brought a vegetable to life as the brand character Kevin the Carrot, employing the most everyday grocery item to showcase Aldi's Christmas products.

But this pivot wasn't just for the laughs; it led to £618m in incremental sales, and selling a staggering £26.7m of Kevin the Carrot merchandise.

The most impactful distinctive assets are the ones used the least by brands.

An ISPOS study shows that mascots are underutilised and underappreciated in modern marketing, but effective.

Distinctive assets unsurprisingly drive more attention, and in the world of media, when the aim of the game is to find underpriced attention, having the right creative in place certainly helps.

We also know that humour in advertising has declined, yet is the most powerful enhancer of receptivity.

Each year, Aldi’s creative idea builds on the previous ideas but also introduces new characters and plots to keep the story fresh.

Distinctive assets, like mascots and jingles, have stood the test of time in advertising, but we rarely see them for modern brands.

Mascots work because they bring a personality to a brand, which humanises it and generates an emotional connection.

When done right, people connect with the brand and a lasting relationship is forged.

Growing up I distinctly remember two advertisers who had either a cartoon mascot or a character, both of which, had advertising which stood out. Compare The Market and Go Compare.

It shouldn't take a category as dull as insurance to make its advertising and messaging stand out.

Seeing the success of Kevin The Carrot proves that being different, and not being afraid to work with humour, can drive effective advertising.

I would love to hear your thoughts on any brands that have distinctive assets which stand out to you and any highlights/shocks across this year's Christmas adverts.