Carys Ranks:Christmas Ads 2024

It’s that season once again dear readers! The school nativity plays have commenced, shopping centre car parks are full to the brim and the country’s leading retailers are embroiled in a battle to win our hearts with their annual Christmas adverts. But not all is fair in love and war. Read on to see how your favourites have fared in my (very biased and not official) festive ranking system.  

The BFG is on a mission to make Christmas dinner more ‘phizz-whizzing’ (according to YouTube captions) and enlists the help of Sainsburys colleague Sophie to travel the country in search for the best ingredients. 

I criticised the Sainsos advert last year for being far too product-focussed without a whiff of a heartwarming Christmas narrative. And whilst this year they’ve continued down the route of reminding us exactly what they sell, they’ve clearly spent more time injecting back that ‘heart’ and meaning of Christmas back into the narrative.  

Particularly, I enjoyed the picturesque settings throughout the ad as our heroes travelled the country sourcing quality materials, though there were certainly times when the masking of Sophie within the BFG animation looked rushed and...odd. Whilst I wouldn’t describe myself as a massive BFG fan, I did enjoy this one. However, it didn’t make me tear up, so I’ll have to rate it solidly middle ground. 

2.5/ 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟’s from Maisie 

Gary tries to enjoy Christmastime and its accompanying festive traditions whilst also grieving the loss of his grandmother. A CGI gingerbread serves as a metaphor for his Christmas spirit. 

This year, I absolutely adored Tesco’s take on dealing with loss at Christmastime. This advert stands far apart from the rest by tackling a subject that can feel very unchristmassy – grief – without feeling too heavy or forced, all whilst managing to showcase some very surreal and impressive CGI.  

In recent years, Tesco has also, dare I say, mastered the product placement in their ads without lingering too long, or name-dropping too hard. They’ve also bravely shed light on the real villain of many stories: iPhone photo memories that pop up. At the worst. Possible. Moments. 

Each year, consumers tend to throw about the same critique of the majority of Christmas adverts: their lack of genuine ‘Christmas Spirit’ – but, for me, this one takes the gingerbread biscuit. Minus ½ a point for the terrifying, hyper realistic Gingerbread people at the 0:59 second mark though.

4.5/🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 

A girl uses a magic snow globe to turn the hum drum of her family Christmas upside down. 

M&S famously got it very wrong with last year’s anti-Christmas activities message, so this was a course-correction I was highly anticipating. In reality, M&S returned to its sequin-heavy, highly choregraphed, inoffensive, and ultimately forgettable style of the last five-or-so years (I mean who doesn’t remember 2019’s Go Pyjamas for Christmas?! Oh right, literally everyone).  

It's safe. It's visually impressive, but it doesn’t make me feel anything.   

1/ ☃️☃️☃️☃️☃️ 

Human Dawn French is exhausted by all the work that comes with celebrating Christmas. But fairy godmother Dawn French is here to save the day, with a Cinderella-makeover for human Dawn French and her messy flat as guests come to party and munch on delicious M&S food. 

M&S’ split personality between its food brand and clothing & home brand never fail to give me a bit of whiplash each year. This year’s instalment of the former expands on the Dawn French-universe it’s been growing the past few years by finally realising the one thing we liked about those adverts – Dawn French – and giving us double the D.F. in a one-woman comedy reminiscent of a trip down the panto.  

It’s well-paced and induces genuine giggles. I’m a big fan. 

3.5/🧚‍️🧚‍️🧚‍️🧚‍️🧚‍️ 

A woman travels through time and space in a ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ meets psychological-thriller-covered-in-candy-canes style fever dream as she searches for inspiration for her sister’s Christmas present.  

John Lewis’ departure from adam&eveDDB last year marked the end of an era. Unfortunately for them, that ‘era’ was their strong held crown of the Christmas advert game. After a disappointing first round last year (who could forget the Little Shop of Christmas Horrors?) they've moved in a different direction entirely: reminding the British public that John Lewis is in fact a store that sells products, and that you too can purchase those products from them.  

Now I wouldn’t have as strong of a visceral reaction to this advert were it to have been created by any of the other retailers I’ve reviewed here. In fact, were it the M&S logo plastered on the wall above the rack of sequinned dresses at the 0:07 second mark I may have even jumped for joy and rated this a more than respectable 4 /🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣.  

Personally, I think the execution of travelling through past memories in order to find the perfect gift for your loved one is done beautifully, (albeit a bit too fast paced – it took me 2-3 views to fully grasp it). The visuals are so layered and complex, and the actress’s face at the 0:50 second mark as she looks back at her teenaged sister and mother dancing in the kitchen genuinely deserves a BAFTA nod in February. 

But this isn’t an advert by M&S, or Sainsburys, or even Boots (who, by the way, I am actually refusing to rank this year because the product placement is simply so prevalent that I barely have any material to even critique), and I did warn you that ranking system was subject to bias! 

John Lewis Christmas adverts are for making me cry about a man in the moon, or a cute dragon with a fire-breathing problem, or animals jumping together on a snowy trampoline. They should in no way suggest that I shop in their store – unless, of course, that is to purchase a stuffed version of the aforementioned cute dragon character featured in the advert. And they certainly shouldn’t accompany the advert with recommending that I purchase the lead’s faux leather trousers and fair isle jumper!  

Oh John Lewis, it’s going to take a lot to rebuild our trust tree next year.  

2/🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣 

In a two-part true crime special, Matthew Macfadyen takes on the role of detective when pudding goes missing right before Christmas dinner.  

Waitrose went all out this year, including a star-studded cast of UK dramedy actors spoofing the country’s favourite television genre: ‘Who dunnit?’ detective dramas. (The Venn diagram of Waitrose shoppers and Line of Duty superfans is surely just a circle.) 

In addition to the two-part advert, (the first part of which fittingly concludes on a cliff hanger), Waitrose also ran a social campaign starring Line of Duty leads, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston, putting their pseudo tv-investigation skills to the test as they teased the big reveal.  

Overall, I found this one really unique and cleverly connected across multiple channels. Well played, Waitrose.  

4/🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪  

At this point, I’ve just accepted that Kevin the Carrot Aldi adverts aren’t for me. I’m not a Kevin stan, but plenty of people are. Let’s keep it moving. 

A girl is gifted a set of magic bells for doing a good deed and brings a bit of magic to Christmas dinner before ultimately using her power to gift another child a Lidl beanie for Christmas.  

Overall, the message and tone of this advert feels right on the mark, but there’s something that just feels a bit off about it – and I think it might be the voice over. The narrator doesn’t seem to take a breath for the full 60 seconds, yet she adds nothing to the story that you wouldn’t get from just watching the advert with a stripped down, soulful cover of a modern Christmas track playing over the top (no really, I tried it and it worked just fine).  

It makes me wonder if the original plot was changed in post and they thought an overzealous narrator would force the message home and distract from any inconsistencies.  

2/🦝🦝🦝🦝🦝 

A winter storm has shut the roads and threatens to ruin Christmas at your local northern Asda. Luckily, a coordinated team of animated gnomes are here to save the day and decorate the store.  

A strong contender this year from Asda, especially after two years of weak and, dare I say, lazy Christmas campaigns reliant on existing Christmassy IP. I must confess that I adore both a pun and a bit of festive tat for my garden, and with Asda’s extensive range of gnomes in store already (50-strong according to their own press release!) this ad feels unique, light hearted, festive, and incredibly on brand. It also gets a bonus point for sparking a festive workplace debate on the usage of gnome vs gonk.

4/🧝🧝🧝🧝🧝 (Apple you need a gnome/gonk emoji STAT) 

Thoughts? Which was your favourite?