Unwrapping A Great Christmas Ad: What’s Inside?

Christmas ads are as much a part of the festive magic as the lights and endless loop of Mariah Carey.

Over the years, they’ve evolved into a cultural phenomenon, an annual event on both public and social scale.

1 in 6 people even adjust their plans to catch the debut of their favourite Christmas advert.

But in a world of overconsumption and media overload, what makes a Christmas ad truly great?

The Human Truth of Christmas Ads

Christmas is an inherently emotional time of year. A season of reflection, connection, and heightened feelings.

As our Applied Behavioural Scientist Mark Hauser notes in a previous blog:

No other event, nor time of year, seems to carry with it so many simultaneous changes in our behaviour, nor so much nostalgia, emotional charge and expectation.

It’s one of the only times of the year when the majority of people unite through a shared event. Yet, despite this collective experience, each person’s connection to Christmas is uniquely personal.

This shared, yet individual nature of Christmas creates a powerful, emotional framework for storytelling. This also makes it a unique opportunity for brands to connect with their audiences.

As social beings, we are wired to seek out and nurture connections. Connection not only brings emotional fulfilment through the release of feel-good hormones but also offers us safety, support, and a sense of belonging.

Emotions like joy, nostalgia, love, and even sadness all help us connect with others.

At Christmas, a season tied to connection and rooted in tradition, these emotions are amplified.

The familiar Christmas related sights, sounds, and traditions can influence our emotions both positively and negatively.

Why? Because our brains constantly create internal models that help us interpret familiar cues and link them to past experiences.

The more significant our memories associated with Christmas, whether joyful or otherwise, the stronger the emotional resonance.

This is why Christmas ads, when done well, leave a lasting impact.

Are Christmas Ads Losing Their Spark?

However, as effective as emotional storytelling can be, there’s a fine line between familiarity and fatigue.

We live in a world saturated with content. And while the comforting familiarity of a classic Christmas ad may initially evoke strong feelings, overexposure can dull its impact.

This is supported by the mere exposure effect, which suggests that repeated exposure to a stimulus can build familiarity, and therefore connection. But, when overdone, it risks becoming predictable.

It’s no surprise then, that festive fatigue is starting to set in. For example, researchers found that 67% of customers were anticipating marketing fatigue by November 1, 2024.

The nostalgic, family-focused, emotional Christmas advertising can be heartwarming, but can also risk feeling hollow if it isn’t meaningfully connected to a brand’s identity or values.

Haven’t we seen enough attempts to replicate John Lewis’s emotive storylines?

Christmas ads are starting to feel like renditions of each other.

Authenticity Matters

Although emotion, familiarity and all things Christmas do still resonate, today’s audiences expect more.

To truly stand out, Christmas ads must be emotionally authentic and relevant, to both the audience, and who you are as brand.

For example, Otimove’s report stresses the importance of relevant messages to maintain audience engagement and avoid overwhelming customers.

Emotion for emotions sake fades, quickly. But emotion tied to an authentic, clear and meaningful message can create a lasting connection that endures long after the festive season ends.

The Importance of Entertainment

Entertainment can also offer a powerful way to connect with audiences. Whether through beautiful cinematography or making people laugh, entertainment elevates a Christmas ad from ordinary to memorable.

Humour, in particular, is powerful. Laughter ignites joy, breaks down barriers, and strengthens connections, much like nostalgia or love.

In an era where moments of family TV viewing are less common, humour can bond friends and families watching together, while also strengthening the relationship between the brand and its audience.

One study from Oracle found that 90% of people were more likely to remember a brand’s ad if it was funny.

So why aren’t more brands embracing humour in Christmas ads?

It’s risky. Poorly executed comedy can fall flat. But done well, humour can entertain audiences, strengthen emotional connections between a brand and customers, and leave a lasting impression in the minds of recipients.

Which Brands Got it Right in 2024?

This year, we’ve selected a few Christmas ads that lived up to our expectations.

They didn’t only tap into those Christmas related emotions, they’re also relevant to their audience and authentic to their brand, as well as being refreshingly entertaining.

1) Apple

Apple’s product-specific Christmas ad offers a ray of hope on technology in a year full of doubt and uncertainty.

Instead of relying on holiday clichés, it focuses on the AirPods’ new hearing aid feature, a design that has the ability to enhance that connection at Christmas.

By tapping into emotions like connection, joy, and empathy, Apple stays true to its mission of improving lives through tech.

This isn’t just a product ad or an emotional story for the sake of it, it’s authentic and resonates with their audience.

2) Vodafone

Vodafone’s Christmas ad scored 5 stars and a 94% brand recognition. In System1’s research with 2,000 viewers, not a single person had a negative reaction to the ad.

So, what did they do right?

Vodafone leaned into connection, authenticity, entertainment, and a fresh kind of nostalgia.

Featuring the iconic Nokia brick and celebrating their 40th anniversary, Vodafone Christmas ad is relatable, quintessentially British, and captures both the spirit of Christmas and their brand.

3) Posten

The Norwegian Postal Service, Posten, released a Christmas ad that, while unlikely to appear on UK television, provides valuable lessons that can resonate globally.

A satirical mockumentary about Santa’s fame-hungry reindeer, offers a fresh departure from the emotional cliché.

With on-screen introductions, this ad reflects netflix’s documentary style filming, as well a retro style camera quality that conveys a nostalgic, humorous and delightfully bizarre approach to a Christmas ad.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a must-watch.

Although these three ads stood out, there were several other memorable Christmas ads this year. We’ve mentioned these in our newsletter, along with The Team’s Top 50 creative picks of 2024.

Key Takeaways

As our Brand Activation Director Sally Tarbit says, “Great Christmas ad must evoke meaningful, authentic emotions while delivering a relevant and entertaining brand story.” When an ad makes us laugh, feel, and connect, it stays with us, not just because we felt something, but because we felt connected to what the brand represents.

We think these three lessons are important for any marketer or communicator:

1. Emotion must be authentic and meaningful.

2. Be willing to entertain.

3. Relevance (to the audience, the context and the brand) is essential.

Done right, a Christmas ad becomes more than just a festive promotion, it becomes part of the magic.