2024 Christmas Ads are here!

Christmas is almost here and brands are making us feel it already!

The warmth and celebration of Christmas gives brands an opportunity to talk to their customers. Some brands of course do it better than there others. But either way I guess most brands have mostly been capable of spreading the Christmas cheers in their own way with the audience.

In this year’s Christmas edition, some brands have really outdone the others. Let us look at the top ads this season and dedicate some analysis to them.

And, to add some fun to it, I decided to rank them all based on 5 parameters:

• Brand Relevance – How relevant the advert is to the brand identity, what the brand stands for
• Christmas Relevance – How relevant the advert is to Christmas
• Consumer Relevance – How meaningful does the ad seem to the consumer
• Fun Quotient – Is the advert interesting and makes me want to watch it again?
• Storytelling – Is the storytelling lucid and gripping or does my attention begin to drop off anytime?

All these above parameters will be rated out of 10 and the total score will be out of 50, thus, giving us the rankings. Let’s go!

No. 17: Harvey Nichols | Robot Boy 

• Brand Relevance – 2/10
  • The advert seems very generic in terms of the brand relevance. Harvey Nichols is a brand of luxury department store and there was no scene in the advert that seems to have indicated that. So, a poor rating in this parameter.
• Christmas Relevance – 3/10
  • The ad covers the basic element of gifting, but nothing else. Christmas means a lot more to people I am sure.
• Consumer Relevance – 2/10
  • As a consumer I couldn’t relate to a robot boy in Christmas in a random room getting gifts. Really, I find it irrelevant.
• Fun Quotient – 3/10
  • If this ad shows up again on the tv, maybe I would tolerate it, but I wouldn’t wait to watch this till the end.
• Storytelling – 4/10
  • Storytelling was ok, maybe till the midpoint. But anyway, there wasn’t much of a story in there I felt.

Score – 14/50 Rank – 17

No. 16: M&S Food Christmas

• Brand Relevance – 8/10
  • It has a reasonably strong association with the purpose of the brand: Food!
• Christmas Relevance – 3/10
  • Sounded a bit grumpy and complaining. Negative tonality in many places but with humour. Not as christmassy as others
• Consumer Relevance – 6/10
  • The consumer needs goods for Christmas parties and this advert makes it clear that M&S Foods has whatever they need.
• Fun Quotient – 3/10
  • I did not find any gripping scenes or great content in the advert to call it fun
• Storytelling – 3/10
  • Well, it’s good for a one time watch. I wouldn’t give it a high rating here.

Score – 23/50 Rank – 16

No. 15: Sainsbury | BIG Christmas

• Brand Relevance – 8/10
  • The advert hovers around aggregating all the ingredients to make some special food during Christmas. Hence the BFG character goes around with the Sainsbury rep to procure unique items. For Sainsbury, I think it makes good sense and it passes the right message across for the brand.
• Christmas Relevance – 5/10
  • A bit in the middle regarding the Christmas spirit. It is warm and nice and hence the 5 rating, but it does not go above and beyond to impress.
• Consumer Relevance – 5/10
  • Well, for a person who doesn’t like cooking, I think might be a tad biased. I think unless you love cooking and plan to cook for your loved ones during Christmas, you would not feel connected to the advert. At least for me, it didn’t connect.
• Fun Quotient – 6/10
  • I think the animation of the BFG character keeps the audience attached. But I am not sure I would pause to watch it more than twice.
• Storytelling – 6/10
  • The story telling went good till a point. But it lacks the punch, the climax or the wow moment.

Score – 30/50 Rank – 15

No. 14: Boots UK

• Brand Relevance – 8/10
  • Boots is a brand of retailer for health and beauty products and pharmacy items. The advert features plenty of products which are relevant.
• Christmas Relevance – 5/10
  • The relevance is a bit weak but have given it a 5 point still due to the gifting reference.
• Consumer Relevance – 5/10
  • It is a weak association with no relevance to what the consumer needs and the Christmas occasion.
• Fun Quotient – 5/10
  • Nothing really.
• Storytelling – 7/10
  • I liked the way the women save the day behind the scenes while Santa sleeps away.

Score – 30/50 Rank – 14

No. 13: Ninja the Holidays with David Beckham

• Brand Relevance – 9/10
  • The brand and the product have a storefront visibility right from the start. The name itself is a part of the tagline (Ninja the holidays). The products are featured everywhere to show how David Beckham Ninja’ed the holidays
• Christmas Relevance – 6/10
  • Once again, the ad shows how Ninja solves Christmas problems of cooking.
• Consumer Relevance – 7/10
  • Similar to the other adverts above, the ad is relevant to the consumers who love to cook or are preparing to host guests.
• Fun Quotient – 6/10
  • Nothing extraordinary but due to Beckham I will give it a 6 rating. Some football tricks would have probably shot that rating up.
• Storytelling – 6/10
  • It’s short and fluid. Not bad I would say.

Score – 31/50 Rank – 13

No. 12: Rockstar Argos

• Brand Relevance – 6/10
  • The ad shows an interesting way to present the brand. But I don’t think the way they have done so is comprehensive or very clear either.
• Christmas Relevance – 6/10
  • I find the advert rather generic. Especially because of the line, “whatever they are dreaming of… ” There is not much in the advert about Christmas except for the gift box opening in the end.
• Consumer Relevance – 5/10
  • I really thought this was a children’s toy advert with all the toys in the beginning. But I think it was supposed to be more than that.
• Fun Quotient – 7/10
  • If you like such animations then maybe it will keep you hooked.
• Storytelling – 7/10
  • It wasn’t really very bad, but not that great either.

Score – 31/50 Rank – 12

No. 11: Sephora | Give Something Beautiful

• Brand Relevance – 8/10
  • In terms of product placement and relevance to the Sephora brand, this ad hits the target. It talks about beauty which is at the core of the brand’s existence.
• Christmas Relevance – 4/10
  • The imagery and the context of this advert can just fit into any other festive season. So, I would rate the Christmas relevance quite low.
• Consumer Relevance – 7/10
  • Gifting is such a challenge always. But when the goal is well defined, you can narrow down to what you should gift. This ad is quite relevant in that manner.
• Fun Quotient – 5/10
  • Well, would I watch it again? No, I don’t think so. Therefore, it scores low on this parameter.
• Storytelling – 8/10
  • Whatever message the ad wants to communicate, is done beautifully and simply.

Score – 32/50 Rank – 11

No. 10: Morrisons

• Brand Relevance – 5/10
  • Being a supermarket chain, it offers more or less the same products for consumers. The advert focuses on singing mitts but it is unclear what Morissons does for someone who doesn’t already know the brand.
• Christmas Relevance – 7/10
  • The ad scores so so on this parameter. The scenes are christmassy and there is the family gathered, indicating a Christmas atmosphere.
• Consumer Relevance – 6/10
  • Once again, it is unclear what this ad means to a consumer except for the Christmas gathering and the festivities
• Fun Quotient – 8/10
  • The singing mitts do appeal to the child in us I believe. So, it scores high on fun.
• Storytelling – 6/10
  • Low score on storytelling is due to the lack of clarity in the advert about the whole purpose.

Score – 32/50 Rank – 10

No. 9: ASDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yy1OetZjok

• Brand Relevance – 7/10
  • Again, in this advert ASDA presents a lot of products related to Christmas which you can avail in their stores.
• Christmas Relevance – 6/10
  • I think it is about the gnomes that makes the relevance more interesting. But Christmas representation was average.
• Consumer Relevance – 6/10
  • For the consumers, the message is that you can buy your Christmas stuff in ASDA. But there doesn’t seem to be a strong selling point as such.
• Fun Quotient – 6/10
  • Decent fun with gnomes doing everything. A one time watch I’d say.
• Storytelling – 7/10
  • The flow of the narrative is interesting and keeps the audience interested till the end I believe.

Score – 32/50 Rank – 9

No. 8: Waitrose (2 back to back adverts)

• Brand Relevance – 5/10
  • Another brand of supermarket/online store advert. However, there is little relevance to the brand in the advert.
• Christmas Relevance – 7/10
  • A joyous Christmas gathering with a lot of family members and lovely warm decorations give this advert a nice Christmas cheer.
• Consumer Relevance – 5/10
  • I believe this advert has little or no relevance to the consumer. It is a good story though.
• Fun Quotient – 9/10
  • A good story indeed. I first saw the advert back a month ago and looked forward eagerly to the reveal a few days ago. Good fun.
• Storytelling – 9/10
  • Being a good crime story, this advert keeps you hooked with the story telling. The climax brings in the brand towards the end.

Score – 35/50 Rank – 8

No. 7: Amazon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecV3E779MfU

• Brand Relevance – 7/10
  • There is a small scene where the e-commerce platform is shown and they buy a tux or a jacket for the main character. There is not much relevance other than that.
• Christmas Relevance – 8/10
  • This ad too captures the spirit of Christmas well, where you do something good for someone else.
• Consumer Relevance – 5/10
  • I am not sure how this is relevant to a consumer. But let’s put it somewhere in between with a 5 rating.
• Fun Quotient – 8/10
  • The singing is what got me watching this advert. They did well with that element at least.
• Storytelling – 8/10
  • A nice gesture by the employees setting up the stage for the janitor who sings well. The storytelling captures it well.

Score – 36/50 Rank – 7

No. 6: Aldi

• Brand Relevance – 5/10
  • Well, there is barely any reference to the brand in this advert, except for the constant logo display.
• Christmas Relevance – 9/10
  • But if you talk about Christmas this advert has lovely association with the season.
• Consumer Relevance – 5/10
  • I am being generous in this parameter to this advert. There is actually little or no relevance to the consumer.
• Fun Quotient – 9/10
  • This small advert actually packs a lot of fun in the animation and the storytelling.
• Storytelling – 9/10
  • What this advert lacks in brand and consumer relevance, it makes up int he storytelling aspect to ensure consumers have a good recall.

Score – 37/50 Rank – 6

No. 5: TK Max

• Brand Relevance – 9/10
  • TK Maxx is a fashion clothing items retailer, and in the advert you see its relevance from the beginning till the end. Would have given it a 10 with a little more nudge, but 9 is still a very high score.
• Christmas Relevance – 8/10
  • The advert premise is again gifting your loved ones, so the Christmas relevance is strong here.
• Consumer Relevance – 7/10
  • The advert plays nicely on the gifting aspect for loved ones, and also on its low price offerings: definitely relevant to the consumers.
• Fun Quotient – 8/10
  • The well dressed farm animals cannot go unnoticed by any onlooker.
• Storytelling – 9/10
  • The narrative builds up so well with the first animal till the end. Keeps you hooked and delivers the brand message as well very clearly.

Score – 41/50 Rank – 5

No. 4: Etsy | Waldo Anthem

• Brand Relevance – 7/10
  • For a long time you would wonder what the advert is about. There is little mention of the brand and the offerings until the end comes where the final words say, “Gifts that say I get you, Etsy has it”. I think they built it up well and hence the 7 rating, else this would have gotten a much poorer one.
• Christmas Relevance – 8/10
  • There is a sense of celebration and cheer around from the beginning, but it is a bit vague. Although it builds up and comes around nicely when the main character finally reaches his loved one. The ad leaves the audience with a warm christmassy feeling and hence the 8 point rating.
• Consumer Relevance – 8/10
  • Again, the final line that says, “Gifts that say, I get you, Etsy has it”, this has a lot of meaning and relevance for the consumers. I would definitely try to find Christmas gifts on Etsy after seeing this ad.
• Fun Quotient – 9/10
  • If you hadn’t heard about the game “Where’s Waldo” then probably you are from a very remote part of the world where not much western media has penetrated. Anyway, that aside, the story has humour and some nostalgia for those who are familiar with the game. Perfect concoction of warmth and intrigue to keep the fun going.
• Storytelling – 10/10
  • This ad deserved a perfect score in storytelling: The story of Waldo and his inner thoughts his feelings and how it has been connected to Christmas and Etsy by the makers of the ad is perfect. There was not a moment in the entire 60 seconds where my attention moved away.

Score – 42/50 Rank – 4

No. 3: Barbour

• Brand Relevance – 9/10
  • For a clothing company, they have done well to incorporate their brand and products in the story
• Christmas Relevance – 8/10
  • The entire story is about Christmas and the farm animals performing carols.
• Consumer Relevance – 8/10
  • I guess it takes little effort to understand that the advert is about warm clothes which you do need during winters.
• Fun Quotient – 8/10
  • Nice animation and the characters do make a fun watch.
• Storytelling – 9/10
  • It is a solid example of how simple storytelling can sometimes serve the best purpose.

Score – 42/50 Rank – 3

No. 2: Lidl

• Brand Relevance – 8/10
  • Another great advert which manages to stay relevant to the brand and the products. The advert focuses on Lidl Toy Bank and weaves the story around it.
• Christmas Relevance – 10/10
  • By capturing the true spirit of sharing in Christmas, this advert scores highly on the relevance to Christmas.
• Consumer Relevance – 9/10
  • I think this advert manages to touch a chord with most consumers with its core theme of sharing with those who need and wishing for things during Christmas.
• Fun Quotient – 8/10
  • I watch this ad back to back coz it was lovely to watch. It has humour and manages to connect each member with something relevant and interesting.
• Storytelling – 9/10
  • Keeps you gripped till the end and delivers a lovely message.

Score – 44/50 Rank – 2

No. 1: Bubbles | Deutsche telecom

• Brand Relevance – 9/10
  • Ad makers should remember that adverts are an investment to grow the brand. If the advert doesn’t serve the purpose of the brand then why should the brand waste budget on it? This advert is so perfect in keeping the brand in mind and associating the festive spirits to the purpose of the brand that I would recommend this advert for budding marketers to watch and learn.
• Christmas Relevance – 9/10
  • The advert tells a very touching story of the spirit of Christmas which overcomes rivalries and hatred between factions. It shows how connections are made and delivers a beautiful message.
• Consumer Relevance – 8/10
  • I think every viewer can connect to this advert. It depicts the schism between the two sides and how barriers need to be broken to make connections and places the brand strategically in the end.
• Fun Quotient – 9/10
  • The way the video has been shot makes it really interesting. It is like a small movie in itself of 2 minutes.
• Storytelling – 9/10
  • There aren’t any voiceovers, but the entire story is beautifully shown. I loved the end where the two snow globes are shown broken and connected, in the entire Christmas decoration set up.

Score – 44/50 Rank – 1