ALDI | Kevin’s Christmas Mission
Branded Memorability: 74 (+7 vs. 2023)
It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without ALDI topping the UK Christmas rankings, with Kevin the Carrot making a seamless return as ALDI’s Christmas ambassador. Continuing the brand’s magical formula of using the unmistakable brand beacon in fresh yet instantly recognizable ways, this year’s spoof of Mission Impossible delivered ALDI its strongest Christmas ad to date. With its high-octane storyline and cheeky humor again grabbing people’s attention, “Kevin’s Christmas Mission” delivered on all the elements necessary for short- and long-term success.
“I love Kevin the Carrot he’s now officially associated with Christmas.”
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Coca-Cola | Holidays are Coming (AI)
Branded Memorability: 73 (-4 vs. 2022)
With Coca-Cola employing AI to produce its 2024 Christmas campaign, the technology fortunately had a rich library of footage to train itself on—thanks to the brand’s exemplary consistency over many decades. Emotional? Tick. While the uncanny valley effect gave the ad a slight wobble in terms of likability, “Holidays are Coming” always leaves people feeling warmth and joy. Well-branded? Big Tick—the unmissable red trucks make the ad instantly attributable to Coca-Cola. Relentless consistency meant the festive replica was highly synonymous with both Coca-Cola and the Christmas season, demonstrating that under the right conditions AI is perfectly capable of creating advertising that delivers both short- and long-term brand impact.
“Always love the Coca-Cola advert. Gives me a warm feeling.”
Marks & Spencer | Christmas Food
Branded Memorability: 73 (+10 vs. 2023)
M&S Food round out our top three with their fun Christmas creative in 2024, forging a powerful connection to brand. The Dawn French voiced Festive Fairy was the ad’s main weapon, providing an unmistakable cue within the highly enjoyable narrative—depicting how the up-scale supermarket can help make the busy Christmas season easier.
“The Christmas fairy works wonders for Christmas and the food was really well presented and tasty, Dawn French always makes you smile."
Argos | Rockstar
Branded Memorability: 72 (+16 vs. 2023)
With an incredible jump up the rankings YOY, Argos’ Rockstar demonstrates the power of maintaining consistency. While last year’s more unfamiliar toy characters, Connie and Trevor, elicited confusion around both the narrative and brand’s involvement in it, Argos stuck to their guns in 2024—delivering a fun and distinctive spot. Having deployed the characters in many other executions over the course of the year, it helped solidify the duo as highly identifiable brand assets.
“I like the characters as I am getting to know them and am finding them more appealing.”
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TK Maxx | Festive Farm (Re-Air)
Branded Memorability: 71 (+10 vs. 2023)
While many brands invest significant resources producing fresh Christmas creatives each year, TK Maxx have proven the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Positively received last year, the brand decided to re-air “Festive Farm” again in 2024, with the pros outweighing the cons. While the industry fear of re-running old ads is that people will tire of the creative concept (subsequently diminishing its effectiveness), “Festive Farm” instead showed how a creative theme can bed in with time. The ad’s collection of cute animals was just as well enjoyed this year—along with being more successfully attributed to the brand. The kicker? Very little signs of wearout.
“It was fun and I loved the animals.”
Morrisons | Mittens 2024
Branded Memorability: 67 (+18 vs. 2023)
Another resisting the urge to create something entirely new, Morrisons took a long-term approach to character development in 2024. After bemoaning the lost opportunity to continue building on Farmer Christmas as an ownable asset last year, there are positive signs that the brand’s replacement oven-mitt characters offer the potential to develop into distinctive properties—akin to Kevin the Carrot, the Festive Fairy, and now even Connie and Trevor. Combined with a more upbeat and widely appealing song choice, Morrisons looks to be headed in the right direction again.
“I love the music and the words that are used as it is a way of celebrating a festive time and other adverts don't really live up to this during 2024.”
Asda | The Gnome of Christmas
Branded Memorability: 67 (+9 vs. 2023)
With recent history seeing the brand utilize celebrity cameos, Asda this year switched tactics in an effort to break through the festive clutter. Focusing instead on an upbeat musical soundtrack and action-packed animations of an A-Team of gnomes, the approach proved considerably more attention grabbing than the warm-heartedness of 2023’s Michael Bublé spot. What’s more, without a celebrity presence demanding the lion’s share of attention, “The Gnome of Christmas” better spotlighted the brand, aided by greater presence of the supermarket’s distinctive green uniforms and in-store setting.
“I love the whole gnome aspect and the A-Team music is perfect. I really love this advert.”
Boots | Make Magic
Branded Memorability: 67 (+4 vs. 2023)
The strength of Boots’ 2024 execution centered around its ability to grab people’s attention. But while the lavish setting and distinctive soundtrack effectively drew eyeballs and captured people’s imagination, some found the approach slightly irritating, impacting overall enjoyment—particularly among females. Nevertheless, with the ad leaving similarly strong impressions of Boots being both fun and trusted, ”Make Magic” effectively showcased how the brand is meaningfully different to competitors.
“Love the way the advert gave Christmas a feeling of joy and fun, I loved the stylish way the gifts are presented and wrapped, the music made it stand out with the upbeat sound.”
Waitrose | Solved (Part 2)
Branded Memorability: 67 (+13 vs. 2023)
Waitrose’s follow-up to their Christmas mystery proved more likable, thanks to the fun and humor landing a little better in the sequel. So, with people enjoying the wholesome reveal of who stole the pudding, have Waitrose unlocked an opportunity for people to revisit part one and look for the clues they initially missed? While seeing the two sequentially offers strong potential to boost overall campaign effectiveness, perhaps the bigger question is whether the media can be laid down in such a way that ensures people will be exposed to both ads at the right time.
“It was the answer to the mystery in a previous ad, (to which I guessed the wrong culprit). A funny advert that made me appreciate the range of groceries from Waitrose.”
Lidl | A Magical Christmas
Branded Memorability: 66 (+12 vs. 2023)
Another big improver in 2024 was Lidl, with its single-minded focus on ‘giving’ being a step-up from the grocer’s Christmas effort in 2023. While the bedtime story theme wasn’t the most attention grabbing, it certainly warmed people’s hearts—with its clear communication of the brand’s links to charity helping separate the retailer from other competitors.
“I like that it's a good-hearted message behind their ad this year.”
Tesco | Feed Your Christmas Spirit
Branded Memorability: 64 (+7 vs. 2023)
After last year’s Christmas smorgasbord, Tesco benefitted from dialing down the decorations in 2024. While still undoubtedly Christmassy, the more down-to-earth and relatable narrative hit the right mix of everyday and festively fantastical, laddering up to considerably stronger emotional appeal than in 2023. With the brand remaining front and center throughout the three-minute spot, the ad successfully conveyed that the supermarket chain helps bring people together.
“This had such a wonderful meaning story almost brings tears to your eyes. Really captures the family story and how important it is being together.”
Sainsbury’s | Whizz (BFG)
Branded Memorability: 63 (+12 vs. 2023)
Playing off Roald Dahl’s classic, The Big Friendly Giant, Sainsbury’s 2024 spot illustrated a neat lesson on how to forge a successful brand link while prominently featuring third party assets. While the inclusion of the BFG led to a fun and emotionally appealing story, having the supermarket chain act as the facilitator throughout ensured the iconic character didn’t overshadow the brand. As such, people still easily picked up Sainsbury’s identifiable properties, leaving people in little doubt as to what brand was behind the cheerful advert.
“It showcased Sainsbury’s really well.”
Waitrose | Sweet Suspicion (Part 1)
Branded Memorability: 61 (+7 vs. 2023)
After last year’s pivot toward a more ‘young adult’ personality—complete with a number of celebrity cameos—this year’s family-orientated narrative was a more natural fit for Waitrose. While the star power was still present, this year’s light-hearted mystery around who stole the Christmas pudding was much more likable compared to previous years’ ads. That said, Waitrose didn’t play a meaningful role in the story, leaving some to not only ask who stole the pudding, but who the ad was for in the first place.
“Had nothing to do with what it was supposed to be advertising.”
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Very | Let’s Make It Sparkle (Re-Air)
Branded Memorability: 60 (+8 vs. 2023)
In a classic case of time being one of branding’s best friends, Very’s re-airing of its 2023 “Let’s Make It Sparkle” saw a considerable boost in performance—which was almost exclusively a function of strengthened brand linkage. With a nearly identical emotional response, the extra 12 months of bedding in the brand’s most identifiable properties (in particular the pink color and flamingos) meant people were able to much more quickly and easily recognize the brand.
“Liked the animals and pink glitter used to represent the pink Very logo.”
John Lewis | The Gifting Hour
Branded Memorability: 59 (+3 vs. 2023)
A return to a deeper narrative style saw John Lewis produce a Christmas ad that felt much more “John Lewis” than last year’s Little Shop of Horrors inspired theme—resulting in the brand being much more front of mind. However, though the slower pace unsurprisingly impacted the ad’s ability to stand out and attract people’s attention, the narrative also struggled to emotionally resonate—with some finding the premise a little dull.
“It's nice but lacks a magical something.”
Marks & Spencer | Clothing & Home
Branded Memorability: 57 (+3 vs. 2023)
After M&S quite literally set fire to Christmas traditions last year (to some outrage), this year’s effort delivered a more gravity-defying choreographed routine set to the Jackson Sister’s, I Believe in Miracles. While the approach worked to grab people’s attention to a similar degree as 2023 (even without relying on celebrity cameos), people were ultimately left confused about what the ad was trying to tell them. This led to emotional neutrality and the ad struggling to differentiate M&S from other department stores.
“I liked the snow. The whole ad was very vague.”
Amazon | Midnight Opus
Branded Memorability: 56 (-1 vs. 2023)
Overall, Amazon’s global Christmas campaign received a lukewarm response from the general public. While some found the story of a workman’s tune given center stage both heartwarming and likable, others found the approach a little dull. And while the ad did work to remind people of the needs the delivery giant can help meet, recognition of Amazon as the main driver behind the janitor’s ascension onto the main stage was tenuous to say the least—with the ad neither looking like, nor feeling like, a quintessentially Amazon advertisement.
“It just washed over me, indifferent.”
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