Christmas ads - love them, hate them, tolerate them, they're a huge part of British culture. 

Well... they're a huge part of the British December culture. 

Viewers remember the successful Christmas ad for years to come. Like the John Lewis ad from 2013, where cartoon animals frolicked to Lily Allen's rendition of ‘Somewhere Only We Know’. 

Meanwhile, the unsuccessful Christmas ad will be forgotten almost as soon as it was seen.

Casting our minds back to December of last year, we're inviting you to travel with us to the good, the bad and the merry Christmas adverts to see what worked, what didn't, and what might work better for 2022. 

Let's get started!

The Good

This year's M & S ad brilliantly combines Christmas imagery with their mascot, Percy Pig, who is given life this year.

What works so well about this ad is that Mark's have taken a beloved figure associated with their brand and breathed Christmas life into him. 

Now, consumers are much more likely to associate their mascot with Christmas (and their Christmas with the M&S mascot). 

Wherever they take this to next year, we're excited to see it.

The Bad

Ah, there’s always one. 

While this advert wasn't necessarily 'bad', per se, it did commit the cardinal sin of Christmas adverts.

The message that the 2021 John Lewis advert carried this year was one we can all get behind - the importance of generosity and kindness to those like and unlike us. 

But was it ‘Christmassy’ enough? 

The problem John Lewis had with this advert can be boiled down to one thing – there were too many elements that do not conjure nostalgic feelings of Christmas.

When it comes to Christmas, and Christmas ads, in particular, nostalgia is everything.

But this ad suffered because two of its key components were not reminiscent of Christmas at all. 

The song, Electric Dreams, is not one that we typically associate with Christmas-time. 

But this alone is not an issue. After all, Lewis’ use of ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ in 2013 will be remembered for a long time as one of the classic Christmas adverts.

The other problem the ad ran into was, well, aliens. Which don't bring forward warm memories of Christmas - not for most people, anyway. 

Having two key elements that do not resemble Christmas served only to dilute John Lewis' message. Unfortunately, taking a risk with a new, alienesque spin on Christmas ads, did not work out this time.

The Merry

To us, a ‘Merry’ Christmas advert is one that, on the surface, does everything right. 

It encapsulates the brand’s essence, and the spirit of Christmastime, but it isn’t necessarily memorable.

This year's Boots advert was brilliant when it came to reflecting brand voice and showing the best of the Christmas spirit. 

In it, a woman played by Jenna Coleman found that from her red Boots there sprung item after item that brought magic to her Christmas, before ultimately bringing her a perfume bottle that she gifted to her grandma on Christmas day. It was a very well-received ad.

But competition was high last year, so with the sheer number of dedicated Christmas ads that came out, it didn't do much to stick out from the crowd.

So, what does make a Christmas ad work?

It isn’t enough to make a Christmas ad that reflects your brand identity and voice – your Christmas ad must feel ‘Christmassy’ to viewers and tug on their heartstrings in some way.

Christmas ads also have to do something new and different whilst still maintaining that Christmas message. 

(Bonus points if you can take an aspect of your brand’s identity and merge it with the concept of Christmas – like M&S’ iconic Percy Pig, given personality for the first time in their Christmas ad.)

In doing so, you can encourage customers to think of your brand when they think of Christmas; and of where they can do their Christmas shopping.

To learn more about Christmas Ads, get in contact today.