From Taking to Giving: Rethinking Holiday Advertising
Why is Christmas so special above all the other ‘new’ holidays?. We might like Halloween, Easter or even Black Friday, but we don’t love them like the 25th December. The long lead-up, the decorations, music and traditions create sustained excitement, releasing dopamine and boosting happiness. It socialises you from a young age to expect and receive joy. How powerful is that?
For all of us, Christmas evokes comforting childhood memories of magic and family rituals, triggering a nostalgia that is incomparable. Social gatherings and acts of giving foster oxytocin, a neurotransmitter crucial for social bonding. This deepens feelings of love and trust. Sensory cues like lights, carols, and festive scents amplify joy, while the holiday’s timing at year’s end symbolizes hope and renewal. As Albert Schweitzer said, “Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it,” perfectly capturing the psychology of Christmas.
As you can see, I love Christmas. I’m a true believer. It’s an amazing time of the year we share stories, reminisce, and watch as the younger generation get transfixed into the traditions that make up this wonderfully family-orientated holiday.
Christmas is about the things that make you feel warm inside, bonding you to others and reminding you why this time of year is so special.
It is also a time, perhaps the only time, we look forward to ads. A great Christmas ad is something to talk about, something to share, and reflects the great gifting ritual of the holiday period. They remind us why we love this holiday above all others and tap into that special collective empathy that typifies what we call the Christmas Spirit. We need to remember that we are dealing with a stadium of positive emotions here, and putting your ad in this arena demands pin sharp sincerity and a little less of the overt commercialism. After all, we are inviting ourselves into people’s homes and want to be part of the conversation.
After reviewing around 50 festive ads from across the globe, I have to say that most were little more than blatant attempts to grab cash, with some tinsel thrown on top. All the ads I selected as favourites are from the UK, the Brits seem to get it right more often than others. I did look further afield, but this year there appear to be far more misses than hits.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, most ads are simply too transactional; they are obvious money grabs, lacking any real charm. Secondly, they lack human insight and are merely a Christmas conveyer belt of goods for sale,. Finally, and most importantly, they fail to deliver great storytelling. Above all else, Christmas is a time for timeless stories we can all relate to.
I get it, we’ve been through hard times over the last few years and people need to sell stuff, but perhaps we need emotional closeness now more than ever. We need to see that people care and that marketers care about us, by delivering the gift of great entertainment in the Christmas tradition.
Before we get into the ones that really hit the mark, there are a few noteworthy runner ups that just narrowly missed the cut. Boots the Chemist really tries with its Puss in Boots joke, but this wears a bit thin after the first 30 seconds. I bet it looked great as a script, but they really do bang you over the head with the reference. It’s beautifully produced though. The same goes for Aldi and their rather odd carrot execution, nice CGI, epic concept, shame about the story. Argos had an unusual toy ad, which could have been utterly charming, but to my mind had Chucky undertones, certainly not my cup of tea. Finally, Marks & Spencer had all the ingredients (literally everything) of a fabulous ad with Dawn French, but laid things on so thick that it just left you feeling like you had eaten too much Christmas dinner.
The Favourites
Tesco – Christmas Isn’t Perfect
A little seasonal conflict is all part of family life and it is nicely observed here. As marketers, we want to speak deeply to people and get a relationship, Tesco does human truths well told with a smile. This ad is part of a series and beautifully taps into familiar experiences that make us all dig deep with a happy sigh, the genius of it is that the executions shine a light on our imperfections. In doing this the advertiser gives us all a shared truth and meaning, the emotional benefit the brans is huge. Consumers will invariably say, this brand ‘gets me’. The Pictionary scene particularly made me laugh out loud.
John Lewis – Where Love Lives
As an exercise in brave marketing this is simply wonderful, I don’t mind admitting I had a tear in my eye for this. To get this level of emotion into a TV ad is absolute gold. John Lewis hits it out of the park with a difficult, but really commendable subject matter. Parents and kids have a long and winding road together, you might have had trying times with your kids or (like me) had a difficult relationship with your father. This ad hits the notes perfectly and still manages to get a well-placed but thoughtful commercial message in there. It works because of the amazing performances and the great writing. This is an exercise in getting a great director and being patient with the casting. The result for the brand is that a present bought from John Lewis will have more meaning and I bet a lot of people are proudly saying where they got their gift when they give them. Just lovely
Barbour – Wallace & Gromit
This ad was a complete surprise to me as I researched this topic. It is super charming and who doesn’t love Wallace and Gromit? Barbour, is renowned for its heritage, nostalgia, craftsmanship and meticulous detail, so this is a great brand fit. Perhaps the creator of Wallace and Gromit, Nick Park, puts it best: "Wallace & Gromit have always embodied warmth, eccentricity, and quintessential British charm, which makes them a wonderful fit for Barbour's Christmas storytelling.” It is made with oodles of love and the knowledge that these characters are part of traditional Christmas viewing. This was a risky strategy though, if they hadn’t treated the wonderful duo with integrity this could have totally backfired. As it stands, it’s a real treat and made me want one of those lovely scarves.
Waitrose – The Perfect Gift
This is the ad everyone is talking about and quite rightly so, its delightful. It’s a tribute to Love Actually, which is required Christmas viewing every year in the UK. What’s amazing is that they managed to get Keira Knightley, which immediately transports you into that wonderful emotional vortex. The rather comedic bearded bloke adds a super quirky performance. This works because it doesn’t actually want anything from you other than to put a smile on your face and make you feel good, that is the strategy. Again, it is using an iconic property, but products take a back seat to the story and the master brand is the winner. This is being talked about across the UK and you simply can’t buy that kind of publicity. However, if your marketing strategy, creative agency and dream casting align, perhaps you might get it for Christmas.
What do all these ads have in common? They genuinely follow the traditions of the Christmas season, embracing goodwill and arriving with gifts. These ads bring people together and evoke a sense of joy about life. While they are created by commercial enterprises, we appreciate brands that make an effort to connect with us, reflect our identities, and help us understand our quirks. By doing so, they become part of the emotional tapestry of Christmas, where everyone benefits.
Merry Christmas, Everyone.
Source: Dean Taylor, 8th December 2025