Irish Examiner View: Discerning the shape of Christmas present

It's easy to deride seasonal TV adverts, but there's a poetry about some of these mini dramas that is entirely apt for our age

Ebanana Scrooge is one of Aldi's new characters in the retailer's 2021 seasonal advertising campaign, 'A Christmas Carrot'. Picture: Aldi/PA

With 42 days to go until Christmas Day, with inflation ripping past 5% and set to reach its highest level for 14 years, and with coronavirus infection again sweeping across parts of Western Europe, what are we to make of the contemporary clutch of TV advertisements and the cultural narrative they present?

These campaigns are aimed at instilling some Christmas spirit and spending appetite in us all — despite those regular warnings about supply chain shortages.