By Sarah Montano, Professor of Retail Marketing
Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham
It’s that time of year, when we anticipate our favourite Christmas ads and wait to see which ones spark our emotions! Why is it that we see such an investment in Christmas ads, what do we think of this year’s ads and what is the Christmas ad theme of 2024? In 2023, we had Bublé, Snapper, Kevin and “Christmas Your Way” but what has changed in 2024 – are we seeing familiar friends and did the John Lewis ad bring a tear to our eye?
Why are Christmas ads so important?
Christmas is a vital time for retailers, and it is the so called “Golden Quarter” when retailers need to maximise their profits to help carry them through the quieter times of the year. As we have seen this year, retail continues to face turbulent times and is a difficult sector to operate in, notably illustrated by the very recent demise of Homebase and the debate around the National Insurance increases. Simply put, at Christmas, retailers want customers to choose them over their competitors, so the ads are a way to cut through the competition and appeal to customers.
Most retailers aim for the emotions when it comes to Christmas ads; reminding viewers of the joy of being together, providing reassurance that they’re here to help with the endless Christmas task list, and triggering the nostalgia of long-forgotten toys. Emotions are used by the retailers to get us to engage, the more emotional the ad, the more likely we are to remember the retailer and trust them when making our purchases. Although this year’s ads do still draw on those emotions, it appears there’s an increased focus on showcasing the products customers can buy, rather than simply creating an esoteric emotional ad.
What are the themes of 2024?
This year common themes of the ads are the return of lovable friends, a mystery disappearing pudding, “we are here to help get Christmas sorted”, and as always an array of celebrity guest stars. Let’s look at each theme.
Lovable friends are back for 2024
It’s not Christmas without some loveable friends! One bonus for the retailer of featuring a cuddly friend is that they can then sell the associated toys and products. A prime example is Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot. This year he’s not being pursued by the evil Pascal the Parsnip, rather we have the naughty humbugs who have stolen the Christmas spirit. Kevin is hot on their tails to ensure that the Christmas spirit is saved, and we all have a great Christmas. Of course, both Kevin and the humbugs are available to buy in store, showing that an advert can stimulate extra purchases.
The Entertainer is one for the parents, and is reminiscent of Toy Story, and shows a poor toy that was once loved. It must have been love, but it’s over now! This one is tugging at the parental heartstrings as children grow and leave their favourite toys behind. Moving to happier ads, we have Asda’s efficient gnomes and Morrisons’ singing oven gloves. Asda’s gnomes save the day by getting all the Christmas goods into store and Morrisons’ singing oven gloves help get all the food ready and share the love. Both retailers are making sure we remember that they’re here to help with what can be a festive yet stressful period. Of course, perhaps one of the friendliest characters of all is at Sainsbury’s who has the BFG. Or if you’re looking for something less giant and more cuddly and humorous, at Barbour we have Shaun the Sheep and friends delivering some scarves to keep warm, with the usual mishaps on the way. When using a familiar character, retailers are tapping into our sense of nostalgia and happy memories. At Christmas it is the adults doing the work to create the sense of occasion, using a familiar character takes us back to simpler times when the only thought of Christmas was the anticipation of that much wanted toy rather than the endless to do list.
Christmas Magic – sorted
One theme this year that stands out is a recognition of the work involved in getting ready for Christmas. For M&S Food our magical fairy (Dawn French) is back to help Dawn French (yes she is in the ad twice!) who is a bit of a Grinch but has a party to host. The M&S Fairy gets all the food ready, and Dawn herself is then ready to party! Boots’ ad has been controversial this year but fundamentally it shows that it is Mrs. Claus and helpers that get the job done. The ad illustrates that over Christmas it’s often women carrying the mental load, planning and cooking on the day, Boots is showing they recognise that and also that they’re here to help.
A mystery pudding
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a bit of mystery and this year Waitrose has a mystery to solve. Someone has stolen the Christmas (chilled) dessert – nicely showcased! With part 2 yet to be shown – who did it? Waitrose have also extended this ad to their social media with local store employees wearing t-shirts with the name of who they think the thief is. With the anticipation of the “whodunnit” mystery to solve, customers will be tuning in to find out (and hopefully for Waitrose buy their own dessert).
John Lewis ad
Always highly anticipated, the John Lewis ad has become as traditional as Black Friday, snow and sending Christmas greetings. In the past we have had a banished plant, a cuddly penguin and a heroic snowman, all set to a haunting tune to make us feel all emotional (and of course ready to buy!). This year the ad features a sister looking for the perfect (albeit last minute) gift for her sister and shows us their relationship via a series of snapshots of them growing up. Unusually set to the original song of Sonnet by Richard Ashcroft (not a haunting remake), the ad very much centres on finding the perfect gift. There has been a mixed response to the ad this year, some are disappointed it’s not the tearjerker it usually is, some are pleased that for once John Lewis actually shows products you might want to buy (rather unusual for a John Lewis ad!), some feel the timeline is quite complex, while others feel emotional as they can empathise with the sister connection. One thing is certain, that whilst there may be differing opinions we are talking about the ad. With the ad being aired immediately on TV breakfast channels as well and debates in the press, this brings great publicity for John Lewis.
Guest stars
Finally, as it is Christmas, it is time for stars of the celebrity variety. Keep your eyes open as there are an array of stars across all the ads including the return of Dawn French for M&S food, Nigella Lawson is in the Greggs ad, Liz Hurley is shopping at Debenhams, Boots has Adjoa Andoh from Bridgerton as Mrs. Claus and the investigator for the missing pudding at Waitrose is Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen! Seeing a celebrity in an ad is nothing new but at Christmas we can observe a proliferation of celebrities. Brands like to use celebrities, due to the theories of celebrity endorsement, for consumers we seek to see the celebrity reflected back to us and we are looking to share a bit of their aura. So, we might be shopping for the Christmas do at Debenhams but for a moment you might feel as glamorous as Liz Hurley and you may be buying your cake from Greggs but for that moment in time you are a hostess with the panache of Nigella.
The Golden Quarter is here once again and there’s even some snow on the ground to get us into the Christmas spirit!
-
- Read more about Professor Sarah Montano
- Back to Social Sciences Birmingham
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Birmingham.