2023 Christmas commercials: mediocrity, craftsmanship, clichés and sometimes... brilliance

Date
14 November 2023

It’s that time again: It’s Christmas commercial season 2023. I’m ready for a wagonload of snow, candy, British stars, and tortured covers of familiar songs. And what did I get? Exactly that. I love it! A (completely objective) overview of the (mostly) British 2023 Christmas commercials. Brace yourself for Rick Astley, kisses, Ryan Reynolds, talking mittens, singing oven gloves, pink flamingos, John Travolta as Santa Claus and... a rediscovered hit from 1965. And... What did John Lewis do?

Family watching christmas commercials

What kind of year was 2023? A bit meh perhaps? With misery and wars, not really something to look back at fondly. But more importantly, what kind of Christmas commercial year is 2023? Do we see wars in Christmas communication? The quick answer: not really. Of course, they’ve reached for the stars, but the most striking change compared to 2022 is that the (financial) crisis is very, very remote. Last year it was all about loneliness and spending less. This year (with one exception) it's about throwing parties, squandering money, buying (or giving) gifts, having fun. In short: there is nothing to worry about anymore. Consumer society in overdrive.

That doesn't necessarily lead to instant creativity, in and of itself. The atmosphere everywhere is positive and cosy, but is there any creative progress? Are we going to be pleasantly surprised? Nope. It looks like a collective decision has been made: we won’t make much of it. It's almost all on standby mode. 'We know what works, so that’s what we’ll do'. By the way, even on standard mode, the British are still light years ahead of us.

Much of the same, but there were indeed some shining stars among them again this year. I've watched them all; the good, the bad and the neither. Enjoy, and spread that Christmas commercial spirit.

About Patrick Severein

Patrick is a marketing and content strategist. Within iO, he is head of content marketing & video in our Utrecht campus.

But above all, Patrick is our CCO: Chief Christmas Officer. Patrick is a real Christmas fanatic, and is only too happy to combine his professional knowledge with his love for the holidays.

For several years now, he has been following and analysing, for Adformatie.nl and others, the various Christmas commercials broadcast on television in the UK, the US and the Netherlands.

Enjoy!

Patrick Severein Kerst

A list of surprises

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Disney connects their Christmas campaign to their new movie, Wish (making the link to Make a wish). Surprise: Disney doesn’t go for animation for the first time in years! Lots of diversity, beautiful song. But I don’t understand it. Might just be just me.

M&S Food

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Dawn French is back as a fairy for M&S Food. But more importantly... the heroes of Wrexham FC (oh yes, and Hollywood stars) Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney also play a role. Like mittens on a string. And that is indeed as great as it sounds. And for the rest: Well made, funny and entertaining.

Coca Cola! They can still do it! What a relief compared to the last few years. Lovely Christmas atmosphere (short summary: everyone is Santa Claus and just be nice). With a guest appearance by... the Coca Cola Christmas Truck. Great song (an original) by the British artist Celeste.

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John Lewis

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John Lewis, the king of the Christmas commercials. The question is the same every year. Is it any good? Well, to be honest... I don't like it. It's creative, absolutely. There's a twist to it. A beautiful message about making your own traditions and growing new traditions ('When you make traditions your own, they are more special'). But a carnivorous plant? And Andrea Bocelli? It just doesn’t do it for me though. And that's strange, because I'm always calling for creativity and boundary pushing, but it’s all-in the execution, and this is not it... It's well made (the first from Saatchi & Saatchi for John Lewis), but I don't get goosebumps and it doesn’t make me smile. No warmth anywhere. No real sense of Christmas. Surprising, but as far as I am concerned this is a failure.

Vodafone

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Vodafone made a really nice commercial. Completely aligned with the brand, good casting, positive vibes. And with a light-hearted story: girl wants to 'catch' Santa Claus on camera, thanks to Vodafone's network that works of course. More than well done.

Lego

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Familiar recipe for Lego. Grandma with Yoda doll steals the show. Again – this is just very well made.

Zalando

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Unwrap your story. That's Zalando's message this year. Everyone has multiple sides: what's your story? Simple, effective, completely aligned with the brand. Well done, without the bells and whistles.

Heathrow

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Kind of in the same vein as Zalando, this commercial from Heathrow. Short story, no frills, nice message, and on brand. Hits the mark.

Michael Hill took a very good look at the 2022 Plus commercial. And gave it its own twist. Girl is not happy with stepmom. Acts annoying. Will work itself out in the end. Ok, I confess, a bit of a lump in my throat, as I predicted the ending from a mile off.

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Kroger

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Eating (and therefore cooking) brings people together. Krogers' message. Delicious Christmas entertainment.

Hobby Lobby

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Hard-working, single nurse is surprised by teenage son with house full of Christmas decorations, thanks in part to Hobby Lobby (50% Off Christmas!). Sweet. Not bad. But not memorable.

Duracell

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Oh no! Rudolf's batteries are empty. That means no red nose. But luckily, the Duracell rabbit comes to the rescue. Nicely made, quite Christmassy.

Sweet, the German Milka commercial. Boy Becomes Best Friends With Chocolate Santa, Little Sister Destroys Poinsettia. Tears. Boy gives Chocolate Santa Claus to sister: Geben ist das schönste Cadeau. (Giving is the best gift). What can I say? Sounds a bit bizarre. It is.

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Lovehoney

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Funny approach. Lovehoney (sex toys) uses customer experiences in their Christmas commercial. Between the lines, all kinds of things are said, but nothing is shown. Well done. Different.

IGA

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Good animation, from IGA. Good narrative voice. Story is a bit too far-fetched (something with a beaver sharing food).

Brilliant (sometimes in all its simplicity)

Epic. Truly epic. The American credit card company Capital One commercial. Because: John Travolta as Santa Claus in a Saturday Night Fever reprise: Holiday Night Fever. With the same scenes, the same actors (Donna Pescow!). With the same music (Bee Gees of course). Absolutely amazing.

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Charity Shelter

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Instant tears watching the charity Shelter’s commercial. This one really hits home. Happy, excited girl. Christmas is coming. Helping others and being good in the hope of getting lots of gifts. And then... Christmas morning, she wakes up to nothing. Ouch.

Canadian BC Children's Hospital Foundation

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Another one coming in, the commercial from the Canadian BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Sick children doing everything they can to be 'just' at home for Christmas. Help get us home.

Boots

Amazing, the Christmas commercial for Boots. Stunning production values, nice story (mother and daughter travel around the world to give Santa Claus present), brand perfectly positioned (without irritating), good actors. And with a nice joke at the end. A Christmas commercial that doesn’t lay it on too thickly. The music is really great: Val Doonican with I'm going to Get There Somehow (from 1965!). What a bold and surprising choice. And what a wonderful song. In recent years Boots has produced the most consistent Christmas commercials. Consistent quality.

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Amazon

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Amazon has put (almost) everything I like into their Christmas commercial. Nostalgia, humour, just-a-little-bit-different-music-than-you-expect, good casting, emotion. Three elderly ladies go down the hill one last time on a sledge. Sledge is too hard: buy cushions from Amazon. Amusing. Light. Funny. Warm. Not too complicated.

Deutsche Telekom

'Mom wants grandkids desperately and questions my fertility'. With this phrase alone, Deutsche Telekom has  fought its way into the top echelons with their international campaign. Recognisable for everyone: family talking about everything during Christmas dinner (about education, relationship, children). Grandma comes to the rescue ('Are you happy?'). With the message: Questions that matter connect us more. Almost perfect.

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M&S Clothing & Home

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Craftsmanship, just a shame...

Well-known Brits throw all the Christmas clichés in the bin For M&S Clothing & Home. With a brilliant campaign phrase: Love thismas (not thatmas). Other than that, nothing special (also because of the tortured rendition of the song Meatloaf made famous).

Very

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Beautifully made, Very's animation, including logo flamingos. Branding at its best. The nicest of them I've seen in years. But a Slade cover?  Really?

Lidl UK

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Is a raccoon Christmas? No, I don't think so. Lidl UK thinks so. The commercial is beautifully made, but that's the only thing. Everything else is just not quite there. Storyline, casting, animals, cuddly toy. Everything is just meh.

Sports Direct

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Nope, Christmas is very hard to find in the Sports Direct commercial. Just like last year, actually. Spot on brand communication. Good commercial in itself. But just not giving me any hint of Christmas feeling. I don't like it.

Morrisons

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Oven gloves sing Starship song. Sounds lame. But it still works for Morrisons. A little. 33 seconds too long. And zero Christmas spirit. Did I mention it took too long?

Trust

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Touching, that's the National Trust commercial. Well made but far from dazzling.

Ocean Spray

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OK, not as good as last year, Ocean Spray. It’s weird and awkward and that's fine. Too bad they didn't top 2022.

Will this ever be okay?

What's going on with Sainsbury's? An unbelievable disappointment. Again. A weak attempt at humour and only food and products in the leading role. Special mention to the star Rick Astley, and for the pun charcuter-tree. But for the rest? Nothing at all.

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Argos

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Argos was so good last year! And how bad Argos is this year! Nice idea. But a good idea doesn't make a good commercial. Nothing happens. Yes, a doll dances. Filmed by a dinosaur. It just doesn't make any sense. Just like the whole commercial.

Dobbies

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Dobbies and Christmas, I'm not a fan. Not this one either. Find your Christmust. Miss.

Golden Corral

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How unattractive this food looks. So unattractive, it's repulsive. The American Golden Corral (a buffet restaurant) has achieved at least one thing: I will never go there. And certainly not at Christmas.

Etsy's

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So, Etsy's  is really cringe-inducingly bad. For these creatives, the Christmas feeling had clearly not yet resonated. By the way, there is a whole series of commercials. Worse.

Allison Hammond is Debenhams' biggest asset. (last year, by the way, she was in the Sainsbury's Christmas commercial). If you're a superfan: watch. If not: skip (the latter is highly recommended).

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Aldi

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Guess what? Aldi is doing it again this year with that gnawed carrot (Kevin the Carrot). Even more vague than in previous years. Even less funny. I'll quote myself: I'm so done with that carrot. Ok, ok, 2 positives: the animation is really very, very well made. And a nod to Willy Wonka is nice. (By the way... Aldi scores well in the other surveys, so who am I to judge?).

Kohl's

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How nice, Kohl's fished the commercial out of a stock video archive this year. What a bucket of dullness. What are they thinking? How dare you release this?

Waitrose

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The atmosphere is good at Waitrose. But the commercial itself? Neither meat nor fish. Party. Product plugs. An ok role for Graham Norton. And Depeche Mode is always plus one.

TK Maxx

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I was really looking forward to TK Maxx. Especially after last year. Still a bit of a let-down. Nicely made. A few jokes, but it doesn't really resonate. It just doesn’t land. The music does by the way (which has nothing to do with Christmas, so good choice).

Asda

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Make this Christmas Incredibublé. Yep, it's Michael Bublé, in Asda's Christmas commercial. He checks all the food. Fortunately with a little self-mockery. At the end, he sings a line. Totally irrelevant this commercial. I suspect Michael needed money.

Macy's

Protagonist is top notch. Music (The Moonglows from 1953!) is simply awesome. But other than that, , Macy's isn't very creative this year. Looking for a present for Santa Claus. It's as if AI comes up with an 'idea for a Christmas commercial'. See also Boots.

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Barbour

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Paddington is out, Shaun the sheep is in. With the leading role in the Barbour commercial 2023 (and with the jacket, of course). I don't like that sheep... But great commercial otherwise. Animation craftsmanship from Aardman. Unfortunately, not very memorable.

Bailey's

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The positive thing about  Bailey's is that it makes you want Bailey's. A forgettable Christmas commercial.

Smyth Toys

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The best part of Smyth Toys' Christmas commercial  is the real life Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Commercial starts very much a dime a dozen, gradually it all improves a bit, but it never really gets spectacular or Christmassy.

Dior

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Anya Taylor Joy is back for Dior. Again elusive, again beautifully made. But a lot flatter than last year, pushing products in your face. What a pity.

Greggs

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Also pushing products, but just a little differently (drone light show in the sky). Tight enough for Greggs because of the attempt to do something else. That's it.

And the winner is....

Time for the big conclusion. It's actually not much different from my intro. A lot of craftsmanship, high quality, but little innovation and creativity. And of course, we have a winner. I have two this year, tied for first place. Boots and Deutsche Telekom are making the best Christmas commercial of 2023. With Capital One and Shelter very close behind. Honourable mentions for Coca Cola, Amazon and Zalando.

The award for best Christmas commercial song (a new category, introduced this year) also goes to Boots (Val Doonican), Macy's (The Moonglows) takes silver and Coca Cola (Celeste) gold.

My Christmas wish for 2024? It could be a little more abrasive. Challenging. Pushing the boundaries. Shaking things up a bit. Without forgetting Christmas. How? I don't know. But they're going to get there somehow. While maintaining quality, of course. Because it has to be said: overall, the quality of the Christmas commercials in the UK is as high as the fairy at the top of the Christmas tree. And please, Sainsbury's, come home for Christmas. And be as brilliant as ever. That's all we ask.

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The ultimate end-of-year guide

Cyber week and the end-of-year are approaching fast. There's still a lot of great opportunities to boost your sales. This guide, will help you fine-tune your communication and advertising strategy so that you can grab your target audience's attention and keep it. We will teach you how to sell through external platforms and marketplaces like Bol.com and Amazon, and how to roll out the digital red carpet for your customers.

Patrick Severein, Head of Content & Strateeg

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Patrick Severein - Marketing- en contentstrategist. Head of Content Marketing and Video at iO campus Utrecht
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