There’s lots of noise online right now about the Christmas TV ads of John Lewis, M and S and even Morrisons, but I’d like to refer you to the humble 6 sheet poster in which Argos pluckily seems to compare itself with Apple.

‘We sell more iPods than anyone else,’ say Argos, ‘except Apple of course.’ They present an image of several iPods, with the Classic model front and centre.

At first glance the ad is high on cheek. After all, no one is likely to ever confuse a branch of Argos with Apple’s temples to taste and consumerism. At first glance, the attempted conflation of the two brands seems absurd. And why promote the iPod, which is in decline? But the cleverness of the ad is the way in which Argos speaks to its audience, the technological late adopters who would like a bit of Apple but wouldn’t dream of getting a Mac or an iPhone or an iPad (yet) and who might be intimidated by the aforementioned temples. We can get you some Apple, says Argos, and you won’t actually have to speak to a trendy geek with a lanyard.

And although it isn’t the main point of the ad at all, letting existing Apple fanboys and girls know that you can get the kit at their store isn’t a bad thing for Argos either. For those whose image of Argos is behind the times and still rooted in kitchenware, it’s a useful heads up.

Unlike some of the other Christmas ads, this unpretentious little number is both on brand and aims to build sales. Good stuff.