Nov 16, 2022
Christmas ads are out in full force already, as this week’s advertising slots soar in price with the start of the World Cup. So we’ve rounded up the best campaigns for you below!
First, we have to establish the criteria:
Branding: 8
Let’s be honest, John Lewis doesn’t need branding in its Christmas ads. They’re already the most anticipated Christmas clip of the year, and everyone knows a John Lewis Christmas ad when they see it. So not a 10/10 because the branding isn’t on the nose, but an 8/10, because they don’t really need it, do they?
Emotion: 10
No but really, did you cry? The emotional tone of the ad is perfect for Christmas. It’s sweet, sad, heart-warming, hopeful and joyous. What more can you ask for?
Creativity: 10
John Lewis is breaking the mould of the standard Christmas ad here. They’ve still got all of the Christmas imagery we’re used to seeing (family coming together, Christmas tree, happy children), but they’re put a twist on all of it. Particularly nice: including the care worker in the Christmas family scene.
Bonus: 5
Bonus points to John Lewis for being impact-driven this Christmas, and giving back to the community. It’s lovely to see a Christmas ad focussed on a different type of family than the one we usually see.
Verdict: 33 / 30
Branding: 10
The story at the heart of the ad is exactly the kind of story Shelter tries to prevent this Christmas. Of course, it’s not branding in the same way that an ASDA, Sainsbury’s or John Lewis has in mind when they’re making their ads (they’re not trying to get customers to buy their brand new figgy pudding over anyone else’s), but the entire advert has Shelter’s mission and messaging at its heart, and does a great job of getting this across. That’s a 10/10.
Emotion: 10
Unsurprisingly, Shelter’s ad tugs at the heartstrings. That’s the name of the game for this organisation. They’ve done a great job with it, it’s a tough watch that will make a lot of people guiltily reach for their wallets.
Creativity: 6
Shelter’s not reinventing the wheel with this ad. It’s nothing groundbreaking. But the structure is well done, leaving the (gut-wrenching) plot-twist to the end and avoiding some Christmas clichés. It works.
Bonus: 5
Obviously, the charity Christmas ad gets bonus points for social impact. It speaks for itself.
Verdict: 31 / 30
Branding: 10
Is there a single frame throughout this advert that doesn’t feature the Lidl logo in it? It’s hard to miss which brand this advert was commissioned by. The main character of the ad is merchandise in and of itself (literally a buyable teddy bear wearing a Lidl jumper), and we see the focus family walking through a Lidl shop with a stacked shopping trolley.
Emotion: 6
Unlike the previous two, this advert won’t make you cry. It may make you chuckle though.
Creativity: 6
It’s a cute twist on a story we’ve seen before. It’s not a typical Christmas ad, and most of its creativity comes from how self-aware it seems to be about festive advertising. But it’s not completely breaking the mould.
Bonus: 0
Verdict: 22 / 30
Branding: 10
The entire ad takes place inside an ASDA store. We see multiple departments, products, in-store branding, and promotions cycle by in the background. You’re unlikely to forget that you’re watching an ASDA advert.
Emotion: 8
ASDA’s heavily relying on nostalgia with this one. Elf is one of the most beloved Christmas films, especially amongst age groups that are buying, hosting, and cooking their own Christmas dinners. It gives us a few laughs, but the advertisers are clearly looking to draw on the Christmassy emotions that Elf is already associated with. It’s medicinal nostalgia in Christmas form.
Creativity: 7
The original movie does most of the heavy lifting here. Some creativity points awarded for clever ways to incorporate Buddy’s shenanigans into an ASDA plotline. (Bonus points awarded here for being the first brand to get Will Ferrell to agree to licensing Elf).
Bonus: 0
Verdict: 25 / 30
Branding: 9
The Ocean Spray cranberry puddings are the centrepiece of the Christmas spread in this ad. The room is beige and bland, so the bright red jelly stands out against its surroundings, and even the people in the advert move around as if they were Ocean Spray cranberry pudding themselves.
Emotion: 7
I had a hard time pinning down what exactly I was feeling as I was watching this. Mostly I was thinking “what did I just watch…?” It was absurd and disruptive, and I think the main emotion I took away from it was confusion. But that eventually gave way to glee at just how utterly strange this advert is.
Creativity: 9
The only reason I’m not giving it a 10 is because the style of advert is reminiscent of early 2000s Cadbury adverts. Other than that it’s brilliant. It’s very simple, we do see the classic Christmas dinner that we so often see in yuletide adverts, but other than that there’s nothing standard about it. It’s a welcome break from the usual prescribed-holiday cheer.
Bonus: 0
Verdict: 25 / 30
In a statement they put out today, Co-op has announced their decision to pull their Christmas ad their year, saying they "felt the best way to show [their] commitment to making things a little fairer for [their] communities, is to pull [their] Christmas ad altogether." Instead, they're redirecting the yuletide budget (to the tune of a couple millions) towards cost of living support programmes.
Branding: N/A
This one's hard to judge at the moment. We know they won't have a traditional Christmas spot to promote their brand, but we don't know how they'll market their cost of living support programmes yet. There's the potential that this move will curry favour with the British public and have them reaching for the Co-op Christmas range anyways.
Emotion: N/A
Again, we don't know exactly what their advertising for this new campaign is going to look like. But we can expect it to fall somewhere on the anxiety/comfort spectrum.
Creativity: 10
At the end of the day, not running a Christmas campaign can be just as effective as running a Christmas campaign. They're saying it's not a Christmas ad, but it pretty much is. But a very creative one, that throws the entire rulebook out of the window! Props for that.
Bonus: 5
Bonus points for actually re-investing these millions into a community-led food scheme. Is there anything more festive than making sure families have food on the table at Christmas?
Verdict: N/A