Published on
November 14, 2024
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In this Breakdown, we're looking at ✨ every single Christmas ad from 2024 ✨
Starting off with the big one.
The John Lewis Christmas ad is the most hotly anticipated campaign of the year in the UK. Over the years, it has become a trope of heartwarming storytelling that brings a tear to your eye.
This year, though, everything has changed.
This year's Christmas ad is focused entirely on John Lewis.
That's right, for once, we have not been treated to a story of a lonely man on the moon, or something equally heart-wrenching. Instead, we have the story of a woman going to John Lewis to buy a gift for her sister.
There is still plenty of magic - the woman steps Narnia-style through a rack of clothes into a memory-scape of her sister through the years, as she hunts through her own memories for a gift idea.
It's a bold move to change what everyone thought was a winning formula. But John Lewis picked new agency Saatchi & Saatchi partly because they wanted to change the formula. Everyone has been proclaiming the death of retail for years, and even though John Lewis' digital storefront has come a long way over time, they are first and foremost, and most famously, a store. They're a store that people love to visit for hours, peruse everything from homeware to tech to clothing to jewellery to perfume.
So it's not really that odd, if you think about it, for their Christmas ad to depart from the mystical, abstract storytelling, to a genuinely real, relatable story of finding a gift. You know you'll find something at John Lewis, after all.
And this ad is not without heart, either. The fact that it's so relatable, that the frustration and anxiety of buying gifts gets so wrapped up in the love you have for the person you're buying a gift for, that all the memories you have surface gift ideas that you discard immediately, but not without some reluctance, makes the campaign feel just as heartwarming as in previous years.
Add to all that the fact that John Lewis split up their Christmas ad into a storytelling triptych, going from John Lewis' history in the UK, through the 'knowing' gifting that people who really care do, into this finale - each with their own emotional crutch, rooted in retail - it's hard to see this as anything but a really, really good iteration of the most awaited TV ad of the year.
More variations on the theme.
Coming from the same agency, and likely the same desire to change up the formula, John Lewis Partnership's other well-known brand, Waitrose, was also given a new style of Christmas campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi.
The campaign focuses on a murder mystery story, with the unfortunate victim being a Waitrose Red Velvet Bauble Dessert.
Again, we can see the real thread of Christmas commerciality shine through - this entire production puts a special, limited time, new Waitrose product right at the heart of things. This isn't something to complain about at all, because, like the John Lewis ad, it is wrapped in so much excellent storytelling.
"Sweet Suspicion" is so great, to me, because of how well it plays out across every conceivable channel. Drawing inspiration from the Knives Out style of mystery, featuring a mysterious family full of characters whose surreptitious motives you want to know more about (with lots of visual inspiration drawn too), the campaign gets to play out both like a movie release, and an interactive murder mystery game all at once.
Some YouTube ads feature a couple at home watching the ad, trying to pick out certain details that might lead them to a clue of who nabbed the Bauble dessert. Some social ads simply cut down the main TV spot, like teasers for a movie trailer. Some feature talking head moments from the cast, where they offer up their excuses and alibis.
It's a wonderful piece of storytelling that takes place across so much of the internet and beyond, while still staying focused on selling product. It's a fine balance, but Waitrose and Saatchis London have found it.
Clearly playing a game of who can make you cry fastest
It's a pretty, beautiful ad. I'm a sucker for anything that uses a Gorillaz song, but there's a lovely mix between craft and storytelling here. Watch things turn into gingerbread is genuinely magical, and a lovely visual motif. But when you realise that its because of a memory of the main character's late grandma, things start to take a turn into Lump-In-Your-Throat-ville.
Being incredibly, incredibly cynical, I think it's a bit of a cheap shot to chase emotion through. Your first Christmas without someone you love can be incredibly painful, and this gets straight to that feeling. It does feel like a team sat down and tried to work out how to make the saddest thing possible, while still making it about Christmas.
But not being so cynical, this ad hits all the right notes. There's the emotion, the music, the visual craft, the product focus. It's a great ad.
It's just so Disney.
Disney's Christmas tells the story of a boy who encounters a cute lil octopus while at the beach. It refuses to leave his side, and returns home with him - where the boy shows the octopus everything in his life. They form an adorable friendship, before the octopus joins Santa Claus on a magical sleigh ride delivering gifts.
There's really nothing like instilling the magic of Christmas in your audience than finding a way to make it seem like you're seeing it all for the very first time - and Disney invite us in through the octopus' eyes. It's so sweet, that it's easy to miss the Disney references - a Mickey Mouse beanie and a lightsaber were the two I picked out first time round.
So there is some commercial thinking going on - but really, this is a Disney sob-fest through and through. I like.
Kevin's back, and he's on a mission
That's right, back for a ninth successive year, the ever-popular Kevin the Carrot has returned for Aldi. And he's here to save Christmas from Dr Humbug and her nefarious plans to steal the Christmas spirit.
Cue Kevin's heroics, a lilting VO, some knick-knacks and doodads (including a fake bottom), and the restoration of Christmas cheer - featuring a dining table stocked full of Aldi's Christmas range.
It's a classic formula for Aldi by now - give Kevin something to do, make it about Christmas, show off the food. And it keeps working. The people love it.
Another big return
For Morrisons, the returning stars are the singing oven gloves.
Now singing a version of Give A Little Love from the musical Bugsy Malone, the gloves, and Morrisons, are celebrating the Christmas hosters. The ones who pour out love for their friends and family through their cooking and hosting and setting up party games and everything else that terrifies me.
As is traditional for supermarket Christmas ads, the focus is ever on the food. Morrisons Christmas range is accompanied by customers and staff, showing it being lovingly prepared and cooked from store to delivery to home.
It's fun and cutesy and a bit childish, everything a family Christmas is.
It's a big, friendly ad.
Sainsbury's have enlisted the help of beloved giant, The BFG, to help restore the magic of Christmas.
For a full review of this ad, check out our Breakdown.
New traditions, new strategy
Sports Direct have done something really interesting with their Christmas ad.
They've jumped the gun on New Year's Resolutions with New Christmas traditions. And I think it's really smart.
While everyone else is still on the "nestle in for the winter" cozy sort of messaging, and before everyone gets on the "go out there and do something new" sort of messaging, Sports Direct have come out with an energetic, buzzy film about being active and living life this winter. It's contrarian, but I think it could be really effective.
New Year's must be a good spike for Sports Direct, as plenty of people buy up gym gear and running gear and whatnot. Trying to pull those purchases forward, and away from other retailers who are waiting for the 'right' moment, could be a bit of a masterstroke.
Maybe too real with this one.
Matalan have unsurprisingly gone for a very straight down the line Christmas ad.
That's not meant as an insult in any way. It's an extravagant luxury to be able to make a Christmas ad that has absolutely nothing to do with your brand or what you sell. It's an extravagant luxury to be able to make a Christmas ad without showing price tags and convincing people to buy stuff.
So Matalan did neither, because while Christmas may be about small luxuries for consumers, it isn't for brands.
The ad gets real down and dirty though, daring to call out the nightmare that Christmas can be for parents. Angry, messy kids torment the Miller family, but only for a moment, as the Christmas cheer eases over those cracks.
In a way, I really like that as a metaphor for what Matalan are doing here. Decorations from £3, gifts from £4 - those are the kinds of prices that also ease over the cracks of what can be an awfully expensive time of year. And, at least in the ad, all without giving up any of what makes Christmas special.
Big thumbs up. This is good Christmas selling.
Sometimes, you just really want to be in a Starbucks.
Starbucks have chosen to focus this Christmas ad on their in-store experience - and I think it works really well.
There's some McDonald's-y about Starbucks - it's so ubiquitous that the feeling of walking into a store feels so familiar, and a bit like home. In a world full of coffee shops that require either 5 minutes squinting at the menu working out what to order, or spending an extra £2 on the same flat white you would've ordered at any other coffee shop, the familiar red cups at winter, the wooden decor, it all just feels nice.
That seems to be the idea here. Amidst the chaos of Christmas, Starbucks is a bit of a hearth, a retreat from the cold and the bustle. As long as that's a venti chai that the man is picking up, then I agree wholeheartedly.
With a debut goal
For their first ever Christmas campaign, Greggs are announcing the return of their Christmas menu with an familiar face.
Nigella Lawson features, talking of flakey pastry and creamy sauces, before we find out she is, of course, talking about Greggs' Festive bakes.
It's a funny ad, and features a well-placed celeb for Christmas food. What's not to like?
Ayayayay, I don't really want to wade into this one.
But getting the obvious out of the way first - if I can find anyone who can cogently explain why they don't like this ad without the paper-thin veil over what is essentially "I don't like things that incorporate anything from a culture that isn't mine" or "I am a (closeted) racist", then I'll be more than happy to listen to or read what you have to say.
Is it a traditional Christmas ad? No.
Is that important? Maybe, but not for the reasons that many of the haters seem to be giving.
So how is it not traditional? Well, there's no cute, children's story in it. There is no heart-wrenching moment, nor a cartoon character.
But it is literally an ad about Santa's workshop, and a funny take on it. Mrs Claus does all the work prepping the gifts while Santa snoozes, and then he rides off on his sleigh to deliver them. And if that's what people are taking issue with, then I'm properly baffled. It's a version of a fictional story, with no concrete, agreed-upon original, that gets retold every year countless times.
The fact that this was ever a point of contention is insane to me. It's a fun Christmas ad, with lots going on visually and products clearly heroed throughout. It's good advertising. Checkout System1's analysis if you don't believe me, but buy into their methodology.
Feat. the inimitable Dawn French
There's something so British about Dawn French and this ad. The quirkiness and silliness, the shifts from near-slapstick to dry, sarcastic comedy. It's some lovely work that, again, has a really strong commercial thread.
As with the rest of the supermarket ads, the food is the hero here. The table is filled with metric tons fo M&S Christmas food, with a few hero products (presumably new this year) mentioned by name and with a lingering product shot.
But really, the underlying message is in the ease that M&S brings to your Christmas. In a "sequences shortened" version, a fairy magicks all the food onto the table, already cooked. It also dresses Dawn French.
But the idea is that buying your party food from M&S makes life as easy as that. And to be fair, it probably does.
It reminds me of a line I heard, I think in an old Iceland Christmas ad, which focused on the fact that all their party food was made to be cooked at the same oven temperature, and in roughly the same amount of time. I remember thinking that was absolutely genius, and really took into account the challenges of cooking for so many people and cooking so many different things.
Well, this ad isn't as on the nose as that, but it still delivers the message. M&S will sort you out for Christmas.
The sweetest ad you'll see
Lidl's Christmas campaign looks at Christmas wishes - how we might wish for certain foods at the dinner table, or apparently for a giant gingerbread man straight out of Shrek 2. But ultimately, it is one little girl's wish that captures your heart - the wish to give her own presents to someone who might not be getting any this Christmas.
I mean, I'm nearly in tears just writing this.
It's all supported by Lidl's Toy Bank, a way to actually donate gifts to children without any this Christmas. Lidl is my favourite supermarket (unrelated, it are also my closest supermarket), and I love this whole campaign.
Some really inventive thinking here
Etsy's campaign is all about "gifts that say I get you", with lots of OOH work up and about. The Christmas TV ad focuses on one instance - the real-life Wally from Where's Wally?. It's a lovely little story, of what gifting can mean between two people who get each other.
I think this ad touches really well on that insight, the idea that there's something incredibly comforting about coming home to someone who knows you, and what you like and dislike, and wants to put all of that into a unique gift (from Etsy) that would only be right for you.
Return of the baaaaaaaa.
Last year, Shaun the Sheep and friends joined Barbour for a Christmas ad. This year, they're back together.
I can't pretend I remember last year's ad too well, so this one needs to stand alone as its own piece of storytelling.
And it does!
There's a clear product and message in here - buy some Barbour scarfs, they keep you warm. So as a pure piece of advertising, this hits those notes just fine.
As a Christmas ad, I mean who doesn't love Shaun the Sheep. Silly stop motion animals carolling is some good fun.
I do miss a bit of the mischief that Shaun the Sheep is famous for, though.