Naturally, November’s been a blockbuster month for brands kicking off Christmas-related marketing, but there’s also been some big news from Facebook, Vine, Snapchat and more.

John Lewis’s Christmas advert becomes the brand’s most-shared

It’s a hotly anticipated part of November – even kicking off Christmas for some – so this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert was bound to generate a lot of excitement.

While ‘Buster the Boxer’ has been criticised for being slightly underwhelming, it still managed to become the brand’s most-shared ad ever.

Now with over 1.76m shares, it has overtaken last year’s ‘Man on the Moon’.

If you’re not sick of it just yet, you can also see John Lewis’s most famous Christmas ads in Lego form if you visit the brand’s Oxford Street store. 

Because, well, why not?

Pret’s alternative Christmas ad

From the rest of the Christmas ads, we’ve particularly enjoyed Asda and Waitrose, however Pret’s alternative advert has also caught our eye.

Highlighting Pret’s Apprenticeship Scheme and its efforts to break the cycle of homelessness, it has received high praise for its philanthropic theme.  

A lovely, memorable little film – it’s refreshing to see a brand focus on social good.

The demise of Vine

While it was announced at the end of October, it’s probably taken a while for news of Vine’s closure to sink in, so we’re including it here…

With concerns over its profitability and having been overshadowed by Snapchat and Instagram in recent years, Twitter made the decision to shut down the video-sharing app.

It has been said that a website will continue to host already created clips, which at least means classics like this won’t be lost forever…

Instagram introduces live video

Instagram Stories had a mixed response from users when it first launched in August. Now the brand is hoping to gain back favour with two brand new features.

The first is Instagram Live, which allow users to stream live video to their followers and see real-time responses. 

Though it sounds identical to other video platforms, the major difference is that the video will disappear forever as soon as the broadcast ends.

The second feature is an update to direct messages, which now allows users to send photos and videos privately rather than just communicate in text form. 

Tinder updates its gender options

Tinder announced this month that users will be able to choose a gender other than male or female.

Saying that “no matter how you identify, you can express your authentic self on Tinder” – it has introduced 37 different genders, which users can choose to display on their bio if they wish.

The update is part of the app’s stong stance against bullying and harassment.

Snapchat sells Spectacles from Snapbot

Sorry about the alliteration overload, but earlier this month, Snapchat started selling its much-hyped smart glasses from a pop-up vending machine in the US.

The Snapbot first popped up in Venice Beach, selling the Spectacles for $130. 

According to reports, it’s been very difficult to track down so far, with Snapbot sneakily popping up with minimal notice.

You can find out where it’s headed next on its Instagram account.

Facebook to tackle fake news

Since the US election was decided on November 8th, concern over Facebook’s involvement in the proliferation of fake news has increased.

In response, Mark Zuckerberg published two posts addressing the problem and outlining the platform’s attempts to tackle it.

Despite maintaining that “the percentage of misinformation is relatively small”, he relented that a lot more could be done to prevent it, largely by refining and improving the Facebook’s current detection tools.

Facebook overestimates metrics once again

It’s not been the best month for Facebook, has it?

The platform admitted that it has miscalculated engagement metrics, reporting inflated figures on organic reach as well as errors relating to Instant Articles and referrals via apps.

This is the second time in just a few months that Facebook has reported this kind of discrepancy, having admitted overestimating video ad views in September.

Now, the platform is promising to work with more third-parties on verifying its data.

#MannequinChallenge

There’s always some kind of social media craze doing the rounds, and this November it was the Mannequin Challenge.

If you’ve somehow yet to see it, it basically involves people pretending to be mannequins while music plays in the background.

Rather pointless yet mildly entertaining – especially when celebrities get involved.

Lidl launches Twitter ‘Price Drop’ campaign

In a supposed ‘social first’, Lidl launched a Christmas campaign to allow consumers get their hands on festive food and drink for less.

The idea is that the more users tweet about a product, the lower its price drops.

So far, customers have gotten their mitts on lobster and serrano ham at bargain prices, resulting in a lot of positive sentiment for the brand on social.