During crucial holiday season, some marketers meet Christmas blues head-on in seasonal ads

Christmas cheer isn’t for everyone. Everyone’s got an uncle who would rather watch a Ken Burns documentary than pull crackers. Who’d settle for Mariah Carey when you can have something more subdued from Gustav Mahler?

This year, as British retailer John Lewis releases its annual holiday ad, some of its retail competitors appear to have caught a winter chill. They’re running spots that reference the stresses of the season — and the current state of the world — as much as they do turkey and stuffing.

Supermarket Asda’s holiday ad features night shift workers cut off by snowy weather. Retailer Matalan’s focuses on the gap between Christmas as it’s presented for Instagram, and the stressful reality for parents. And grocer Tesco’s shows a grieving family going through their first holiday season without a beloved grandmother.

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