Christmas adverts you need to watch this year!
We’re back again! With a detailed review of our top 12 favourite Christmas adverts from 2021. Here at The Agency, we lookout for inventive and creative elements within these adverts. We also just love to get into the festive spirit by watching them for hours! This year so many companies have impressed us with their festive campaigns, so again, we have added an extra list of adverts after listing our top 12.
1. Aldi | The Christmas Carrot
Although Aldi is the new ‘obvious’ favourite, we can’t deny that they have done it again! This year’s recreation of the all-time classic ‘The Christmas Carol’ is pure genius. Even down to the fact that it was originally written by ‘Charles Dickens’, and this year’s Aldi advert is jokingly by ‘Charles chickens’. Here at The Agency Creative, we are partial to a good pun and this advert is full of them. The story entails ‘Ebanana Scrooge’ being shown the magical side of Christmas by Kevin (The spirit of Christmas).
Marcus Rashford ‘MBE’ made an interesting appearance within this advert, his name being ‘Marcus Radishford’. He has teamed up with Aldi in the pledge to donate 1.8 billion meals to families over the festive period. This brings the ‘Peas & goodwill’ pun to life. Within the animation, Marcus Radishford kicked a vegetable football, enhancing his professional career in a creative way. Not only was this advert fun and inventive, but it also delivered some very important messages… “For you to be happy, you need to be kind” & “Make Christmas amazing for everyone” are just 2 of our favourites.
2. Disney | The Stepdad
This year Disney has impressed us with a sequel to their heartwarming Christmas ad from 2020. It shows the granddaughter ‘Nicole’ all grown up with a family of her own. We love that Disney has brought a modern family to our screens this year. The story shows Nicole welcoming a new man (The Stepdad) into her family’s life. An incredibly, relatable story that we believe stands out for conveying the importance of unrelated family members. Within the story, the stepdad is struggling to feel like he belongs in the family, and this doesn’t stop him from trying to make Christmas magical for everyone. The advert shows how new beginnings/traditions can be just as important as old ones, especially with the joining of two families.
Throughout this advert, the children are seen reading their storybook, this showcases various Disney favorites emerging from the pages. We love this, as it perfectly describes how imaginative and magical Disney can be. A very creative way of reinforcing their brand. Finally, we feel that the song ‘Love Runs Deeper’ playing throughout the advert fits perfectly with Disney’s theme this year.
3. Mcdonalds | Imaginary Iggy
Mcdonald’s has amazed us again this year with their Christmas advert. The story shows a young girl creating an imaginary friend ‘Iggy’ and growing up to forget about it. Within the ad, she is overlooking a family with young children and begins to reminisce about her imaginary friend. She then goes back home to unite with Iggy during the festive period. We believe that this advert delivers a strong message, that we are never too old to enjoy using our creativity and imagination.
4. Amazon | Kindness, The Greatest Gift
Amazon has delivered an impactful short film based on the effects of the recent pandemic. The film shows how some individuals have struggled with loneliness and anxiety during the pandemic, and how some still have reasons to remain extra cautious. Christmas is a time where people should be with their loved ones however, this is still not possible for everyone. Amazon has explored this unfortunate situation within this year’s Christmas advert, showing how a simple act of kindness can go a long way. When ordering a gift from Amazon you can deliver it straight to someone’s door, meaning it can avoid unnecessary circulation.
This advert was released prior to Adele’s new album ’30’, the heartfelt song ‘Hold On’ used within the ad is one from this album. We believe this was a clever marketing approach as, although the song is perfect for the advert, it may have also increased popularity with the intent of teasing viewers for the upcoming release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z73AKLBgLg
5. Waitrose | Best Bit Of Christmas
One for the foody’s! This year Waitrose have stood out due to their clean and simple marketing strategy. They know that people mostly buy food from their stores and they have used this to their advantage. We all know that food is the best part of Christmas, during the event, the run-up, and after. We believe that this advert is a perfect display of what Waitrose has to offer, whilst securing viewers’ excitement for the festive period. The story within the advert consists of a woman discarding some festivities such as; gift-giving by saying “It isn’t the best part” and we totally agree! We feel that this advert is humorous and exciting.
The main star within this year’s Waitrose advert is none other than ‘Ashley Jensen’ a well-known actress from our Christmas favorites such as; ‘Arthur Christmas’ and ‘The Nativity’. This creates an instantly recognizable voice and visual for the advert. Making it feel much more festive.
6. Barbour | Paddington, Please Look After This Bear | Chosen As Favourite By Jordan At The Agency Creative
This year Barbour has released another beautifully animated film for their Christmas campaign. Being a team of designers, we can’t deny that the visuals are truly impressive. Not only have they impressed us with their artwork, but they have also decided to collaborate with one of the nation’s favourite bears ‘Paddington’. A remarkable strategy if you ask us!
The story entails Paddington bear showing his appreciation to ‘Mr. Brown’ for looking after him. To return the favour, Paddington re-waxes Mr. Brown’s beloved Barbour jacket for Christmas, with a note saying “thank you for looking after me”. This is not only an inventive storyline but it was also written to celebrate 100 years of Barbour’s re-waxing services. Within the advert, Mr.Brown states that “This jacket is part of the family, just like you are Paddington” proving that Barbour jackets are of great quality and can last a lifetime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5oseavlqbE
7. M&S | Percy Pigmas | Chosen As Favourite By Nick At The Agency Creative
First of all, we have to mention the incredible casting of the M&S food advert this year. Dawn French and Tom holland take on the task of bringing Percy Pig to life for the first time ever! And we couldn’t love it any more if we tried! As a design agency, we hope to find incredible branding within these Christmas adverts. M&S have definitely delivered by bringing their popular mascot ‘Percy Pig’ to our screens. It doesn’t get more magical than that! The advert shows Percy and his fairy friend discovering all the delicious delights that M&S food hall has to offer. Simple and effective!
Although this is our favourite M&S Christmas advert, they have also impressed us with their festive logo update. Simply carrying Percy Pig throughout their entire Christmas campaign is a pure genius move. We believe that the logo appears to be inspired by that of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. But instead of The Lion, it’s ‘Percy Pig’. An instantly recognisable, humourous, and inventive way to reinforce their campaign.
8. Celebrations | The Lonely Bounty | Chosen As Favourite By Jess At The Agency Creative
The Celebrations Christmas advert is just what we all needed. Something laughable and brilliant! Celebrations are one of the most popular selection gifts, and you can guarantee that most households in England will have some over the festive period. Celebrations have chosen to highlight the fact that the ‘Bounty’ is the nation’s least favourite for their campaign. We love this as it creates a humorous and emotional feeling.
The advert consists of a man wearing a Bounty costume as he takes on the role of a lonely, unloved character. During the ad, there is a parody connection to the all-time favourite movie ‘Love Actually’ making it feel much more Christmassy. Their version of the famous ‘doorstep scene’ shows a Sprout declaring its love for the Bounty, two unloved festive foods falling for each other. We believe this is a great and funny way to show that there is someone for everyone.
Taking something negative and creating a positive campaign is a strong marketing strategy when it’s done right. Celebrations have definitely delivered this year, gaining a viral response from many other companies such as; LYNX, The Protein Works, and Comedy Central UK. To make the advert even more substantial, Celebrations have started a ‘Bounty Return Scheme‘ so that no Bountys are left unloved this Christmas. This scheme allows you to return unloved Bounty Bars in exchange for Maltesers in selected stores.
9. Lush | The Snow Fairy | Chosen As Favourite By David At The Agency Creative
Everyone knows that when Christmas arrives so does Lush’s Snow Fairy. This Animation by Lush takes us on a journey through a snowy forest into the enchanted world of the Snow Fairy. This is definitely a place we’d all love to visit! The Anime style video itself is stunning! We believe it has a strong resemblance to the work of Studio Ghibli, the company that produced movies such as; ‘Spirited away’ and ‘Castle In The Sky’. Although this advert isn’t specifically designed for Christmas, it still gives us all the festive feelings as Snow Fairy is clearly a Christmas must-have. Lush have really impressed us with this one by using their most popular Christmas product to advertise their Christmas stock release.
10. Morrisons | Farmer Christmas
We all need to appreciate the ‘regular’ workers of the world more! Morrisons Christmas campaign highlights how the Farmers are just as incredible as ‘father Christmas’. We feel that the children narrating this advert may create a strong and positive impact on other children watching. Teaching them to appreciate the people who work daily to provide for our needs. Morrisons are known for their food but within this year’s advert, they have dug deeper to show us where the food originates. There are many creative comparisons between the ‘Farmer’ and ‘Santa’ throughout this ad, showing us that we should admire them just as much for all of their hard work. Especially when preparing for the festive season.
11. Very | It’s The Very Best Excuse
Very launched their Christmas ad 85 days before the big event. Although this may seem a bit extreme, when watching it you’ll come to realise that it makes perfect sense. Their campaign this year is all about having the best excuse to celebrate Christmas early and start buying gifts. A perfect way to get everyone into the festive spirit. The advert is full of comical and creative excuses that people can explore during the Christmas period. One of our favourites is when a family gives ‘trick or treaters’ a mince pie.
12. Coca-Cola | Chimney | Chosen As Favourite By Sevy At The Agency Creative
Tapping into some ‘real magic’ this year, Coca-Cola has delivered a festive concept that focuses on community spirit. The story consists of a boy bringing his whole apartment block together to create an incredible chimney so that Santa can deliver gifts. The security guard of the building appears as if he is going to ruin the chimney but instead, he helps them all finish it, with a single Coca-Cola box. During the advert, the boy notices a lonely neighbour and his intentions become clear that he’s using the chimney to deliver a gift to her instead. The gift that she receives is a simple note inviting her to spend Christmas day with the family. We love when they switch on the lights and you can see the chimney overtaking the building.
The orchestrated music playing throughout this advert is the incredible work of Dentsumb UK, performing their version of Mary Poppins’ Chim Chim Cher-ee. A very uplifting and perfectly suited song!
“This year serves as a reminder that the Real Magic of the holiday does not come from presents and gifts, it comes from shared special moments together.” -Coca-Cola
Overall we are incredibly impressed with the outcome of Christmas adverts this year and we can’t wait to see what 2022 brings! We hope you have enjoyed our top 12 reviews. Below we have listed all other amazing Christmas adverts that should still be watched.
Sainsbury’s | A Christmas To Saviour | Showcases a large chaotic family on Christmas day, all within an interesting still frame!
Asda | Make Christmas Spectacular | A very creative advert that’s all performed on ice! Fun and impressive!
Tesco | This Christmas, Nothing’s Stopping Us | A lovely idea that nothing can ruin Christmas this year.
Sports Direct | Go All Out | An incredible lineup of impressive athletes enjoying the snow!
JD | Welcome To JD Street| An exciting lineup of celebrities.
John Lewis | Unexpected Guest | Heartfelt advert, showing how everyone deserves a magical Christmas.
Argos | Baubles To Last Year | Full of edginess and creativity!
Boots | Bags Of Joy | Stunning performance by Jenna Coleman, and perfect product placement!
Lidl | Big On A Christmas You Can ALWAYS Believe In | Showcases Lidl’s brand with a humourous twist!
TK Maxx | Christmas To The Maxx | Encouraging individuals to be different!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7W7w-eO-aE
Homebase | It’s Showtime | Great casting of DIY experts. Fantastic display within the store using their own Christmas range!
Debenhams | A Christmas Like Never Before | Creative and emotional poem!
Matalan | Real Moments, Real Magic | An incredible display of imperfectly perfect Christmas moments.