It’s that time of year when you shouldn’t fast-forward through the ad breaks, else you’ll miss some marketing masterpieces. Each year, companies spend big bucks on lavish holiday commercials, and this year’s offerings — which, as usual, are Christmas-centric — have even ad creatives impressed.
“This year’s Christmas batch is one of the best ones in recent years — something to be merry about as it is a tough nut to crack,” Laurent Simon, chief creative officer at BMB, told The Drum.
“The pressure of a blank sheet of festive paper is too much, and we start desperately seeking a new insight or angle that’ll take us somewhere nobody else has been, when the truth is, at this time of year, real people just want lovely, Christmas-y stuff, and this year, we’ve had a bumper crop,” added Negroni Breakfast founder Dan Cullen-Shute.
But that bumper crop included at least one bad apple, as one company took a turn from authentic emotion to artificial intelligence. Watch that ad and more of this year’s holiday commercials below.
Boots: “#MakeMagic”
When Mrs. Claus (played by Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh) finds Santa sleeping on the job, she puts her “werkshop” to work in this advert from the British drugstore chain Boots.
“When Boots asked me to be a part of their festive campaign and play the vital and often under-valued role of Mrs. Claus, I was thrilled,” Andoh said in a press release. “The creative brilliantly shows how beauty can help us feel empowered and fabulous.”
Waitrose: “Sweet Suspicion”
Meanwhile, Succession star Matthew Macfadyen is all Knives Out as he solves a case of missing pudding in this ad from British supermarket chain Waitrose & Partners. And suspects include Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, Sex Education’s Rakhee Thakrar, and Slow Horses’ Dustin Demri-Burns. See the set-up and the solution right here.
JD Sports: “The Family Portrait”
The British sports retailer JD Sports also got big names to star in its 2024 spot, including rapper Central Cee, MMA artist Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett, and Love Island UK host Maya Jama. But “The Family Portrait” also captures everyday people, too, and illustrates how anyone can be family.
Tesco: “Helping Feed YourChristmas Spirit”
A man gets a package of Tesco gingerbread cookies from his grandfather in this commercial from the British grocery chain, and suddenly, he’s living in a gingerbread world. But it all has an emotional resonance that has some viewers crumbling into tears.
“Tesco, you have knocked this out of the park. Lots of Christmas cheer to you and all the nans in the sky,” one YouTube user wrote.
Aldi: “Get Into the Christmas Spirit”
Kevin and Katie the Carrot are back in Aldi’s holiday commercial, and when faced with an impossible mission, they choose to accept it. As the vegetable spies break into Humbug HQ to get the Christmas spirit back, they deploy some “cheeky” spycraft tricks. Check out the declassified op in the clip below.
Disney: “The Boy & The Octopus”
Taika Waititi directed this short film about a boy and an octopus who become, quite literally, inseparable — that is, until, a new friend for cute cephalopod comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve.
“It just proves that cinema doesn’t need to be three hours long,” Waititi told On the Red Carpet. “Being able to tell the story about a really beautiful friendship, I loved the story about that. The thing I loved the most is that there were no words needed.”
Apple: “Heartstrings”
Apple showed off the Hearing Health features of its AirPods Pro 2 in a commercial about a man reconnecting to memories of his daughter after using the wireless earbuds as hearing aids.
According to AdWeek, two-time Oscar-winning sound editor Paul N. J. Ottosson did the commercial’s sound design and adjusted frequencies and volume to give viewers a sense of moderate hearing loss.
John Lewis: “The Gifting Hour”
One of the best-known providers of Christmas-ad feels, British department store chain John Lewis retraced years of two sisters’ relationship — the highs and the lows — as one searches for a gift for the other.
“The part that I thought was very poignant was when her mum and sister are dancing in the kitchen and ask her to join, and she says ‘I can’t’ with tears in her eyes, subtlety implying that their mum isn’t here any more,” one YouTube commenter wrote. “You could blink and miss it, but that part got me.”
Coca-Cola: “The Holiday Magic Is Coming”
In case the uncanny-valley vibes don’t give it away, Coca-Cola’s festive ad was created “by real, magic AI,” in the words of on-screen fine print.
To say the ad fizzled with fans would be an understatement. “Fun fact: @CocaCola is ‘red’ because it’s made from the blood of out-of-work artists!” Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch wrote on X.
Coca-Cola: “Holiday Road”
The soda company might have redeemed itself this year with this commercial starring actual humans. The 30-second spot follows young folks as they take planes, trains, and automobiles — and endure lots of travel frustrations — just to be home for the holidays.
“Now that’s real magic,” one YouTube commenter wrote.
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