It’s the season of joy, giving and merriment and here at WorkPR we love a Christmas advert or two! With campaigns often running from early November, Christmas advertising is getting more creative, and often more emotional, to try and get your hard-earned money. So, lets count down the 12 best Christmas advertising campaigns.
1. Sainsburys – Silent Night
Sainsburys got us all teary eyed when they released the 1914 Christmas advert, which marked 100 years since the start of World War 1. The advert recreates an evening where soldiers put down their weapons, stop fighting, and play a friendly game of football. It’s been 110 years since the end of the first World War this year, making it the perfect time to reflect on this beautiful advert again.
2. John Lewis – Man on the Moon
The “Man on the Moon” tells the story of a man living alone on the moon and a young girl who wants to find a way to send him a gift. The advert highlighted the number of older people who go such long periods of time without speaking to anyone, and the intensified loneliness experienced at Christmas. John Lewis partnered with AgeUK to accept donations and use the profits from certain items sold to support charities fighting against loneliness in the older generation.
3. Alzheimer’s UK – Santa Forgot
A truly heartbreaking story about Santa forgetting children, mixing up their names and eventually stopping the delivery of presents on Christmas eve. A young girl named Freya travels to the North Pole to convince the Elves that if a mechanical Santa can be fixed, maybe old Saint Nick can be too with some hard research. Alzheimer’s UK wanted to bring to attention that Alzheimer’s disease can affect anyone, but with research it can help reduce the effects.
4. KFC – We heard you; we ignored you
To lighten the mood, next up we have the KFC Christmas advert. The Ad shows a member of KFC staff behind the scenes cooking a burger, meanwhile tweets from customers show up on screen pestering KFC for the introduction of their festive turkey burger. KFC got a bit cheeky and remain true to their roots by addressing these requests by flashing on the screen: “We saw you. We heard you. We ignored you. We’re sticking with chicken.”
5. Aldi – Introducing Kevin the Carrot
The nations favourite carrot arrived on our screens in 2016, where Kevin is shown gazing out of the window waiting for Santa. But calamity ensues as Kevin travels across the dining table full of food and ends up having a little snooze on the plate left out for Santa Claus. He awakes to find himself tied to a reindeer antler to encourage Santa’s trusty reindeers to go faster, ending with a traditional clip of Santa and his reindeer over the moon. The nation fell in love with Kevin instantly, selling out his store merchandise within a matter of minutes! Kevin has returned to our screens every year, with new characters joining him to take on mini versions of popular films, such as The Greatest Showman and 2024’s advert is likened to Mission Impossible!
6. Amazon – Joy Ride
The online mega giant, Amazon, tapped into their inner child with their Joy Ride advert. The ad sees three elderly ladies on a bench watching children sledging down the hills whilst enjoying a warm drink. One of the ladies has an idea and orders something on Amazon and hands it to the remaining two ladies the next day – a seat cushion. At the top of the hill the ladies pop their cushions into brightly coloured sledges and set off down the hill in their helmets. Feelings of nostalgia from their childhood come flooding back as they reach the bottom, reminding us all it’s never too late to embrace your inner child and have some fun.
7. Heathrow Airport – Coming Home for Christmas
The minute long advert starts with two bears on a plane being assisted by cabin crew. They move through the different phases of the airport, even taking a ride under the mistletoe on a passenger buggy. The seemingly elderly couple of bears make their way through to arrivals and suddenly turn into a real-life couple whose grandchildren are running towards them to greet them. The sweet advert also had a sequel showing how the bears met, which is equally as adorable!
8. John Lewis – Buster the Boxer
This memorable advert starts with a little girl bouncing on her bed and being told off by her mother. When she’s finally asleep, her dad begins to assemble a trampoline in the garden which they’ve bought her as a Christmas present. Buster, their family dog, watches in awe as lots of woodland animals, such as a fox, a badger and even a hedgehog begin bouncing up and down on the new trampoline, longing to join them. Christmas morning arrives and the little girl runs down the stairs to her dad opening the back door so she can see the brand-new trampoline. Just as she’s about to climb on, Buster the Boxer runs past and climbs on first, bouncing up and down having the time of his life. A truly memorable and fun Christmas advert, especially for the pet lovers!
A bonus for you is the lovely Buzz, joining in with Buster by jumping in his own living room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PLPMgpGWmc&t=1s
9. Marks & Spencers – Paddington and the Christmas Visitor
Paddington made his return to cinemas this month with his new film, Paddington in Peru, but do you remember his iconic advert for M&S?
The advert starts with Paddington in his bed, dreaming about his favourite marmalade sandwiches. He is soon rudely awoken by a man on the roof stealing presents, who he mistakes for Santa after hitting him in the face with his window. Paddington proceeds to helps the man deliver the presents to their rightful owners, making a pit-stop outside a family home to watch the gift giving commence. The man is smiling at the wholesome sight, whilst Paddington lovingly offers him a marmalade sandwich and wishes him a merry Christmas. The whole event was captured by a young boy, which is then sent to the press who come knocking on Paddington’s door. The ad is filled with the standard Paddington chaos we see in the films and will be sure to bring a smile to your face.
10. Iceland – The Banned Advert
In 2018, Iceland announced they would be stopping the use of palm oil in its own branded products to help protect the environment. For their Christmas advert, they decided to utilise an animation made by Greenpeace to highlight the loss of Orangutans due to habitat destruction by palm oil producers.
Clearcast, the group who makes decisions on if adverts can be shown or not, disapproved and decided not to air the advert for television. Unfortunately, this meant that ‘Say hello to Rang-tan’ ad was never aired, but it certainly sparked conversation about palm oil use and how impactful its production is on the world.
11. Yellow Pages – Christmas Kiss
In the 90’s, the Yellow Pages were still very much in use and very handy to have around the home. This iconic advert starts with a young girl holding some mistletoe with her eyes closed, but her young beau was sadly too short to reach up for a smooch. The young boy stands on the yellow pages for a height boost and gives the waiting girl a little Christmas kiss. This adorable advert throws it back to the days where you had to find numbers in the big yellow book, not just Google them!
12. The Coca-Cola Truck
Did you think we were going to forget this classic?! Many people often say Christmas starts the day this advert is aired on TV, with many making the pilgrimage to visit the truck when it comes to a nearby city! The original 1995 advert is a classic with its catchy “Holidays are coming” theme tune and iconic red trucks, featuring Santa Claus of course. They remade the advert in 2020 and are set to return with a completely AI version of the ad in 2024!
Everyone at WorkPR would like to wish our clients, friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
