Published: 11/05/2023 by Kayleigh Walter
So, it’s clear that I love waiting for the Christmas Adverts to come out and seeing how different brands have taken different angles to try and win the heart of the nation, so as Christmas is only a week away I thought I’d do a round up of this seasons Christmas Adverts (if you haven’t seen them already and aren’t already fed up with them) take a look at them below!
Aldi released a teaser and a proper ad this year, the teaser which was a parody of the Coca-Cola advert was the first to drop, duping its audience into believing they were watching the Coca-Cola advert (many say it isn’t really Christmas until you’ve seen the Coca-Cola advert) when in fact, it was Kevin the Carrot in the front seat eliciting a great response from Coca-Cola themselves (check out our other article here to read more!)
Their actual advert seemed to have very little to do with the teaser itself but seemed a lot darker then one would expect of a Christmas advert. The evil parsnip has kidnapped Kevins’ wife and children, but not to worry. In a beautiful advert that keeps the audience invested and highlights Aldi's products, and Kevin saving the day when all in all he's sat in the comfort of his home with his family, telling a fitting Christmas story.
It’s the plug life for me.
Sainsbury’s advert was the next advert I saw and I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I first saw it. I’m not surprised they focused on a school play and children, the initial concept is very similar to the John Lewis & Partners rebrand launch. Children and imagination go a long way with everyone.
It starts off with a shy girl singing ‘You Only Get What You Give’ by the New Radicals rather quietly on stage, but then she finds her Mum in the crowd who switches off her phone. The girl wants to give the best performance of her life for her Mum, so that’s what she does.
For 2 minutes we watch as children sing and dance on stage, dressed up as Christmas Essentials including dancing Christmas Cards and a plug that switches on the Christmas tree lights! It is a beautiful advert that highlights the true spirit of Christmas.
I had high hopes for the John Lewis advert and though a lovely advert and a very nice sentiment - Sometimes a gift is more than just a gift - it lacked something. It was slow and seemed to go on, don’t get me wrong Elton John is an incredible person and he has achieved so much and deserves recognition - I’m just not sure the Christmas Advert was the best place to give it to him.
This advert had me confused but it is brilliant the way they use the John Lewis advert, their daughter all excited to show them this ‘amazing’ advert, yet the parents aren't interested because all they’re thinking about is the food in the kitchen.
It was an interesting take on their partnership but it worked very well, though the ad appears to no longer be available.
I’ve never known KFC to do Christmas adverts but it’s an interesting one because you have no idea what it is you’re watching, yet you can’t look away. Very clever, very funny and quite a brilliant piece of advertising.
For their Christmas advert, Iceland chose to highlight the horrendous truth that we are destroying our world and the animals in it due to Palm Oil Farming. With a voiceover from Emma Thompson and a cute as a button, Orangutan called Rang Tan, your heart will ache.
A decision was made that the Ad was too political to be shown on TV and it has in fact been banned which is absurd. Since the ruling, Iceland has done what they can to get the video to go viral in support to end palm oil farming.
McDonalds’s advert consists of Father Christmas visiting children’s houses with his Reindeer, enjoying the mince pies left out for him while the poor Reindeer seem to have been forgotten with not a carrot in sight. McDonald’s is there though, just off the tip of the roof with carrots galore to keep the Reindeers on their way.
It is a cute advert that is highlighting one of McDonald’s healthier options which is always a bonus.
This year the M&S Christmas advert focuses on the must-haves of the Christmas season as Hollie Willoughby voices over a series of scenes focusing on products available in-store and the usual holiday troupes. This advert along with a number of shorter adverts focuses on highlighting their products and their customer and colleagues favourites.
Introducing the ‘Christmas Fool!’ A small, devil-like creature that is there to wreak havoc over the Christmas period, but no worries because Argos is there to help every step of the way and create your foolproof Christmas. Unlike other Christmas adverts, I was intrigued to keep watching and eager to see how the advert would play out.
Another product focussed ad from Lidl this year, focusing on their unique and worthwhile products to ensure you’ve all you need for Christmas, even if it’s a bit much.
For many, it’s not Christmas until you see the Coca-Cola advert, this used to be the case for me but this year I was tricked by the Aldi Kevin the Carrot advert, as seen above but there is still something about the music they use, ‘the holidays are coming’ line really is the true start of Christmas.
Amazon’s singing boxes are back for another year with another classic. I’ve spoken to a few people and this seems to be everyone's favourite advert with the happiness the boxes bring as Amazon get your parcels delivered to you in good time for the holiday season.
Uncle Awesome! Everyone has that one relative that’s always a bit eccentric, a bit of an oddball and always stands out at family get-togethers. They make the boring events a lot more fun and as it turns out, with the help of eBay they can make your Christmas.
Nothing says Christmas like a snow-covered backdrop as all things festive get shot out of a cannon as they avalanche towards your house…
The Very Christmas advert is very similar to John Lewis & Partners in a way, although it’s a cartoon, the gift she received at Christmas started her on the path of her dream. John Lewis & Partners byline, ‘More Than a Gift’ could apply here too.
This year Cadbury’s focus is to create a large secret Santa pool, they’ve created a special website to allow you to send Cadbury gifts to your loved ones anonymously.
A nice message to this year's Apple Christmas advert though it’s not appealing to the masses.
I don’t think I’ve left any out but if I have don’t hesitate to get in touch and let me know! The Christmas Advert is always tough because you always need to better then you were last year and still attempt to outshine all the other brands getting involved.
I think we’ve had a good year for Christmas adverts, though I do think we’ve also had better I can pick out my all time favourite Christmas Advert quite quickly, can you?
It’ll be interesting to see what these brands will learn from their marketing this Christmas and see how it will impact next year. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
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