Retailer marketers go all out at Christmas, so much so that we are all bombarded by tinsel, twinkle and carols. Some of it will engage us, and some of it will pass us by. But what drives the two relationships? What touches us as meaningful? Semiotics is the sign of signs. It is a set of analysis tools that help us understand the meanings of everyday things in our culture, such as Christmas traditions. When we apply semiotic analysis to Christmas, we find that it can be loaded with meaning. The f
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Retailer marketers go all out at Christmas, so much so that we are all bombarded by tinsel, twinkle and carols. Some of it will engage us, and some of it will pass us by. But what drives the two relationships? What touches us as meaningful?Semiotics is the sign of signs. It is a set of analysis tools that help us understand the meanings of everyday things in our culture, such as Christmas traditions.When we apply semiotic analysis to Christmas, we find that it can be loaded with meaning. The festive season represents an intense cluster of cultural myths, lived out in real experience. This means it feels magical. Sometimes retailers trigger this deeper magic, and at other times they do not come so close.Let’s look at some meaningful, magical Christmas myths and how retailers understand them.Mythological givingThe ritual of gift-giving predates Christianity. It was a ritual of exchange in midwinter in festivals like Saturnalia (Rome) or Yule (Norse), symbolising social bonds during scarcity. Remember, Christmas was originally set in a snowy, cold European winter when food was scarce.Rooted in the myth of giving is the deeper archetype of reciprocity. Giving to others as a moral virtue maintains the moral fabric of society. We need to share and look out for others’ well-being without judgment.Coles seems to have understood this timeless cultural myth in its latest Christmas ad with the adorable dog left wanting at Christmas while others enjoy Christmas fare, only to be remembered and included by mum.It taps into a big Christmas truth about inclusion, non-judgment, and kindness, and becomes part of the magic we all yearn for at Christmas time.The cultural myth of light in the darknessHope is a large part of Christmas, and it is most often expressed through light in the darkness.Before Christmas, midwinter festivals across cultures centred on the return of light. Remember the winter solstice is around 21–22 December in Europe, the shortest day and longest night of the year. So ancient people needed to remember that the sun was coming and with it, abundance. When Christianity spread, it absorbed this solar mythology into its own narrative.Stars are very meaningful symbols of hope at Christmas. It is no wonder they turn up everywhere. They speak to the heavens because that is where they live. They also speak to purity and imagination. Stars conjure up feelings of positivity and possibilities. They light the way in the darkness, illuminate, shine a light on us and symbolise guidance and enlightenment.The myth of light in the darkness can be seen in the fairy lights that light up whole houses in the suburbs, the way we light up the Christmas tree, and the metallic, gold light-reflecting surfaces in gift wrap and tinsel.Whenever I see an ad that tells a story about Christmas through lighting up the darkness, I know it is triggering a deeper meaning. Take the Woolworths ad that has appeared for two years now, where the children create a giant lit-up carrot to guide Santa in the dark.Ads like this that point upward to the sky and the stars above, in the way this does, trigger a need for hope and all that is positive. No wonder Woolworths has recognised its longevity. It still triggers that ancient need for renewal, a focus on the bigger picture, and hope.The myth of abundanceAs Christmas returns to rewriting fears in a cold, deprived European winter, it’s no wonder part of the tradition centres on the myth of abundance.Santa comes with a never-ending bag of presents that can make all the children of the world happy, and we feast. It is a time to feel rich and alive.This myth is easy for supermarkets to capture, and there are usually long shots of delicious food spread across tables.Non-food retailers use an abundance of colour, like red and gold, to capture abundance. Good Christmas marketers are confident with colour, free themselves from being delicate and permit us to indulge in abundant living.Some Christmas ads this year focus on the grim reality of the season, like Big W and QIC Shopping Centres, showing how stressful it is for women and how you need to be superhuman at this time. I have to take my hat off to them for pointing to this reality, as the modern world has made Christmas hard work that women sometimes don’t want to talk about in case they spoil the magical myth of Christmas. I feel this reality needs to be acknowledged, and women appreciate brands that tell this truth.Still, part of me wonders whether reality is as powerful as myth from a brand-building perspective. After all, Christmas itself is a big myth we create to place us in a liminal moment where ordinary structures are paused or softened.At Christmas, we want to feel anticipation, generosity, play, freedom, possibility and a sense of magic. For me, meaningful magic wins out.Mary Winter is the Insights Director at branding agency Principals.Further reading: How Who Gives A Crap turned limited editions into a retail growth engine.
