The Season is Upon Us, it Seems

It's like a switch has been thrown as we enter November and the Christmas TV commercials start in earnest.  Sure, there have been Christmassy ads running since, well, probably September, but this week the 'Big Boys' have been launching their full on seasonal TV campaigns.  Just today, I've seen the opening salvo of commercials from M&S, Aldi and Lidl.  It can only be a matter of hours before Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons join in, (I'm pretty sure that I saw a Waitrose Christmas ad the other day, so they've already fired their first shots of the season).  Oh, and the number of TV spots for those designer perfumes have ramped up - always a good indicator that the festive season is upon us. Obviously, the one that seasoned Christmas commercial watchers are waiting for is the John Lewis TV ad, although I've never understood just why people get so obsessed about these.  It isn't as if they're particularly memorable - I vaguely recall that one about the old peado who loves on the moon, but beyond that, I can't say that I clearly remember any of them.  Getting back to the point, it's hard to remember exactly when these Christmas commercials started this year - were they showing over the weekend?  Did it kick off last Friday, the first day of November?  (I didn't watch a lot of terrestrial TV over the weekend, instead focusing on various Roku streaming channels, which, more often than not, play US ads, usually about  dodgy sounding pharmaceuticals, Medicare claims and tax avoidance). 

Which leads me to ponder as to whether there's some complex formula used by advertisers as to when the Christmas TV ad campaign starts.  Steeped in mystery, like the way the church formulates when Easter is going to fall every year.  Something, perhaps, to do with which weekend the clocks go back on - is there a rule that says we have to have left British Summer Time before Christmas ads can show?  Maybe that is it - it has to be the first weekend following the one where we go back to GMT and the nights start drawing in, making us feel Christmassy.  Of course, these days it is all complicated by the fact that early November is when we also get ads banging on about 'Black Friday' sales.  A concept which, as I never tire of saying, is completely meaningless in the UK, as we don't have Thanksgiving on the Thursday before, (which conveniently marks the start of the US holiday season).  Having answered the question of how they calculate the date for the commencement of the UK Christmas TV commercial season, the other burning seasonal question which needs answering is that of when is it time to put up the external Christmas decorations?  Clearly it doesn't coincide with the TV ads, as I haven't so far seen any displayed around Crapchester.  (Although there are still some lingering Halloween external decorations, which seem to be becoming more popular - there was an inflatable witch popping up and down in the front garden of one house I walked past last week, for instance).  When they arrive, we'll really know that Christmas is here.