It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and, in the world of marketing, that can only mean one thing… Christmas marketing campaigns.
From heartwarming storylines to charming characters, we see it all throughout the festive season and they keep getting better! This year we’ve seen some standout campaigns, so we wanted to share our favourites with you.
Asda’s Christmas Advert
Last year, Asda knocked our socks off with their Christmas advert featuring the one and only Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrel). Somehow, Asda managed to top it this year with another special guest.
The advert, shot by Oscar winning director Taika Waititi, stars Michael Bublé as Asda’s new Chief Quality Officer.
The highly anticipated campaign was created by Havas London. It follows Michael as carries out his duties, entering Asda’s decorated warehouse to sample their selection of Christmas products.
Thanks to his number one album Christmas (2011) and countless televised specials, Michael has become closely associated with Christmas for audiences in the UK. For Asda, this meant a merry and memorable Christmas advert that spreads festive cheer!
Shelter’s Christmas Advert
Based on lived experiences, Shelter’s heartbreaking Christmas advert shines a light on the number of children living in temporary accommodation.
Good as Gold tells the story of Maddie, a young girl on a mission to make her Christmas wish come true.
On her best behaviour, Maddie works hard to carry out a number of good deeds and be as good as gold. Despite her best efforts, Maddie’s wish doesn’t come true as she wakes up in temporary accommodation on Christmas day.
With far too many children and their families living in temporary accommodation throughout the year, Good as Gold encourages audiences to help Shelter help thousands of families by making a donation this Christmas.
To create the campaign, Shelter partnered with creative agency Don’t Panic and worked closely with those living in temporary accommodation.
M&S Food’s Christmas Advert
Dawn French has flown back into our lives this Christmas, reprising her role as M&S Food’s Christmas Fairy for the third year running.
Last year, the Christmas series helped M&S Food to have its biggest Christmas ever – so we’re not surprised she’s back!
Previously, the Christmas Fairy has been joined by Percy Pig (Tom Holland) and Duckie (Jennifer Saunders).
But this year there’s a new pair in town! Wrexham football club co-chairs Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney star as Right and Left Mitten. Having lost their owner, Lily, the Christmas Fairy brings Right and Left Mitten to life and gives them their first experience of Christmas food.
The retailer is set to release 6 adverts over Christmas and New Year showcasing a range of products and reuniting the mittens with Lily.
Boots Christmas Advert
In 2022, 44% of us started our Christmas shopping earlier than September.
Whilst gift giving isn’t the most important aspect of Christmas, it’s become a huge part of it for people around the world. Many of us spend the run-up to Christmas picking out gifts for the ones we love, so Boots have played on this for their Christmas advert.
Give Joy captures the magic of finding the right gift for those around us.
The advert opens as a young girl and her mother leave Boots before she asks ‘who gives presents to Santa?’
In this heartwarming story the mother and daughter go on an epic adventure to the North Pole.
Along the way the pair spread joy and appreciation by giving the perfect gift to those who help them. A helicopter rider with long, luscious hair is given a Dyson Airwrap whilst Santa himself receives a pair of travel flight socks (it’s the thought that counts).
To strengthen their message of empathy and appreciation, Boots have partnered with The Hygiene Bank to tackle hygiene poverty together. This year, the retailer will donate 100,000 products to The Hygiene Bank which will be distributed to an estimated 20,000 people in need.
Barbour’s Christmas Advert
In an unusual collaboration, luxe lifestyle brand Barbour has collaborated with none other than Shaun the Sheep this Christmas.
Lighthearted and full of Christmas spirit, this advert highlights Barbour’s Re-Wax and Repair service. The service allows customers to send their beloved Barbour jacket to be re-waxed, repaired, or altered in their South Shields factory.
The advert focuses on the Farmer’s hard work in the run up to Christmas. When the Farmer’s jacket breaks the sheep and the dog come together to repair it for him, but it doesn’t go to plan. After mending it with arts and crafts, the jacket falls apart as soon as the Farmer puts it on.
Christmas is saved thanks to Barbour’s investment pieces and repair service.
Iceland’s Lack of Christmas Advert
This Christmas, Iceland has decided to ditch a Christmas advert.
Richard Walker, Iceland’s executive chairman, said that this was a no-brainer decision. Instead, Iceland will be investing money in supporting customers during the cost of living crisis.
This isn’t the first time Iceland has taken an alternative approach at Christmas. In 2018, Iceland released Rang-Tan in a bid to raise awareness on the destructiveness of palm oil.
Rang-Tan was originally created by Greenpeace, an independent network who confront global environmental problems. Clearcast rejected Iceland’s use of Rang-Tan as they didn’t agree with Greenpeace’s political beliefs.
Despite being banned, the advert racked up over 70 million views and 1 million petition signatures for it to be shown on television.
Want to hear more about our favourite Christmas campaigns? We’ve got a seasonal surprise for you!
In this festive special of The Girls in Marketing Podcast, we sit down to discuss some of the team’s favourite Christmas marketing adverts of 2023.
From heartfelt charitable ads to light-hearted supermarket skits, we cover a broad range of Christmas ads! So grab a cosy cup of something warm and listen to this exclusive edition of The Girls in Marketing Podcast.
We’ll be back with a brand-new season in January with a new episode every week and some guests you won’t want to miss!
Why are Christmas marketing campaigns so important?
According to research released by the Advertising Association and the World Advertising Research Centre, advertisers are set to spend a mind-blowing £9.5 billion this festive season.
But why are they so important?
Christmas marketing campaigns are a form of seasonal marketing.
Seasonal marketing is the process of marketing your products or service during special points of the year.
A great Christmas marketing campaign can provide incredible opportunities for businesses big and small.
From Coca-Cola to Cadbury’s, we’ve seen some unforgettable Christmas marketing campaigns.
This phenomena has led audiences to anticipate these in the build up to Christmas and look forward to seeing what their favourite brand has come up with.
A hit Christmas marketing campaign can lead to long and short term benefits like increased brand awareness, boost in revenue, and new customers.
So what’s the secret to a good Christmas marketing campaign?
They tap into audience emotion, strengthening our connection to a brand and leading to greater engagement – we share adverts that strike a chord with us, more people see it and are interested.
Christmas is an emotional time that causes us to reflect on the year gone by and the ones we’ve lost, so brands need to tell a touching story that we can all identify with.
