OK I’ve already posted twice this week but I couldn’t resist…

So yesterday the internet literally exploded in a sea of tears, ridicule and cuddly penguins, all thanks to retail giant John Lewis releasing their Christmas ad, something that has become a new tradition in the modern UK festive season.

I wasn’t a huge fan of “the bear”, bit sad for my liking, but I love this year’s advert. I mean, who doesn’t like penguins?! Well some people think this one is sad too. Whether it’s the “lonely” child or “bad” parents argument, it merely follows in the tear-jerker vein of classics like Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life. Like a lot of little people my 6 year old lives in a fantasy world and he’s pretty happy there so let’s not make them feel weird for it.

Essentially, if a 2 minute ad can make me feel as much emotion, or more, than some 2 hour movies I’ve sat through, then they’ve done a fairly decent job in emotionally connecting to consumers in a crowded market competing for our few spare recession coppers. If you hated it enough to comment, then they made you feel something.

1-0 to JoLew.

Alas, I digress, this post is a quick round-up of brands hijacking what quickly became a trending hashtag on Twitter (#MontyThePeguin). In fact, he even got his own profile (@MontyThePeguin) and amassed a few thousand followers in the space of one morning. So of course brands should jump on his furry little bandwagon – but as always, it better be relevant, engaging content or you’ll fall foul of your attempt at viral hashtag-hopping.

Here’s my top picks, although I’m sure there’ll be plenty more to come, including some clangers! And if Penguin biscuits don’t get in on the act soon, they’re missing a trick. Come on McVitie’s!

Of course, animal charities are an obvious link, although kudos to those who have to be more creative because they don’t actually have any penguins:

Then you’ve got anyone with “Penguin” in their name, that’s pretty straight-forward, although a little thought helps make it work better:

Or have you made a movie ABOUT penguins? Even better:

Next up, clothes, we can always find something with a penguin on it:

Food… can we make a penguin out of our food?! Go PR team, GO!

OK, scraping the barrel now… what’s left? Oh yes, people with nothing in common but a cracking sense of humour:

Have you spotted anymore “crackers”? (Apologies, I’ve started my festive puns early!)