Over time, Christmas adverts have become a ritual that marks the start of the Christmas season each year. This year, they arrived earlier than the first snow, as brands seek to respond to the current economic situation and to surveys suggesting that consumers will be keeping a closer eye on their wallets this pre-Christmas period and trying to save more than in previous years. For marketers, this is a tough nut to crack — and television advertising is one way to help support sales.
Each brand is therefore trying to capture as much as possible of that elusive Christmas magic: the kind that can transport viewers, within seconds, into a world where warmth, nostalgia and humanity triumph over the pre-Christmas rush and the worries of everyday life. A well-told Christmas story can be extremely powerful. What is more, it represents a major opportunity to build a strong emotional connection with consumers and raise brand awareness. This year’s festive spots offer a mix of romance, nostalgia and a touch of madness. Let’s take a look at this year’s ranking of the top international Christmas TV adverts. The outright winner is Waitrose!
1. Waitrose – The Perfect Gift
British premium supermarket chain Waitrose has come up with a romantic mini-comedy that is a very elegant move both for its main stars — Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson — and the retailer itself. The advert, about an ordinary man falling in love with a celebrity, really works. And on top of that, it is charming, funny and feels sincere. Keira Knightley’s casting has probably played a major role in the advert’s success, as her role in Love Actually has made her the queen of romantic comedies.
Video: Waitrose – The Perfect Gift
2. John Lewis – Where Love Lives
John Lewis changed agency some time ago, and fans are still arguing about whether it was the right move. This year, in cooperation with Saatchi & Saatchi, the brand introduced a Christmas campaign called Where Love Lives, built around the idea that when you cannot find the right words, you can try to find the right gift. In this case, music is the central element of the advert. The soundtrack, the famous hit “Where Love Lives”, comes from 1990s dance music icon Alison Limerick and was reworked for the campaign by the world-renowned artist and producer Labrinth. The story’s main characters are a son and his father, who discovers an unopened gift under the Christmas tree labelled “Dad” and marked with a smiley face. Inside is a vinyl record of Where Love Lives. He walks over to the record player and carefully places the needle on the record. As the opening notes of the 1990s classic fill the room, he closes his eyes — and the power of music transports him back to the 1990s, a time filled with wonderful memories. This advert will have your emotions turned up to the max!
Video: Where Love Lives – John Lewis & Partners
3. Disney – Best Christmas Ever
Disney launched the Christmas season with a short film entitled Best Christmas Ever, directed by Taika Waititi. The story follows a little girl whose doodle comes to life on Christmas Eve after Santa mistakenly takes her drawing for a Christmas wish. The short film, animated under the direction of Eric Goldberg in collaboration with Untold Studios, Hungryman and adam&eveDDB, continues Disney’s tradition of sophisticated and heartfelt festive storytelling. The living doodle character is voiced by legendary actor John Goodman.
Video: Disney – Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever
4. Aldi – Kevin the Carrot Wants to Get Married
This year, Aldi decided to build up a little suspense for consumers and launched its Christmas campaign as a trilogy, created by McCann Manchester. All three TV spots, released gradually and filled not only with romance but also with plenty of chaos and action, are once again dominated by Kevin the Carrot. While in the first episode Kevin proposes to his beloved Katie in the style of the global Christmas hit Love Actually, in the second episode he ends up stranded in swimwear at the North Pole. In the third instalment, the wedding ceremony finally takes place. But even that is under threat. Nevertheless — as expected — everything turns out well in the end. The perfect advert is brilliantly underlined by the soundtrack “Love Is All Around”, also famously known from Love Actually. Aldi supported its Christmas campaign with a range of activities across social media, print, radio and digital, including competitions, content series and its continuing partnership with ITV.
Video: Aldi – vánoční reklama 2025, 3. část
5. Boots – Gift Happily Ever After
Boots’ 90-second Christmas advert, created in cooperation with WPP, features a computer-animated feline protagonist inspired by the character of Puss in Boots by French author Charles Perrault. Just before the Snow Queen’s ball, the cat bravely sets off on a hunt for gifts. On his adventurous journey, he battles through snow in a fairytale land. He passes familiar magical faces until a sudden gust of wind blows away his beloved hat, and he dives headfirst into the snow to rescue it. The cat falls through the clouds and suddenly lands on a high street far away from his fairytale village, where a Boots store shines brightly in front of him. Shot in the UK, the advert combines live action and CGI to bring the story to life, accompanied by Duran Duran’s “Girls On Film”.
Video: Boots – Gift Happily Ever After
6. Chevrolet – Memory Lane
Chevrolet is a master of emotion, as it has already proved in previous Christmas adverts focusing, for example, on the issue of Alzheimer’s disease. The spot Memory Lane, first aired during this year’s NFL Thanksgiving broadcast, captures the stops and challenges of family journeys during the festive season. This is Chevrolet’s fifth seasonal advert to speak to viewers without burdening them with unnecessary sales arguments. Chevrolet highlights both the intergenerational significance of the brand and the longevity of its products. The car serves as a stage in a theatre of memories, grief, nostalgia and love, created by the brand’s creative agency and marketing teams.
Video: Chevrolet – Memory Lane
7. Marks & Spencer – Traffic Jamming
Marks & Spencer chose the theme of community and shared joy and, as in previous years, cast British actress Dawn French in its Christmas advert. She appears as a tired driver crawling through a traffic jam to the sound of Chris Rea. When she has finally had enough of the queues, her fairy alter ego conjures up an M&S lorry and turns the traffic jam into a fantastic party.
Video: M&S – Traffic Jamming
8. Tesco – That’s What Makes it Christmas
Most brands usually portray Christmas as a perfect, magical time, but supermarket Tesco has taken a more realistic view, offering a series of spots showing the chaotic, imperfect moments of the festive season. The short scenes show families, colleagues and neighbours navigating the rituals that make up Christmas — from colleagues racking their brains over a gift, to a fridge full of treats that must not be touched until Christmas Eve, to an argument during a family board game. Pleasantly original!
Video: Tesco – That's What Makes It Christmas
9. Sainsbury's – The Unexpected Guest
As it did last year, Sainsbury’s has released Roald Dahl’s friendly and slightly clumsy BFG. Together with Annie from Sainsbury’s, he helps save people’s festive celebrations from a greedy giant who wants to steal their food. The advert is well made; the only problem is that it does not bring anything new.
Video: Sainsbury's – The Unexpected Guest
10. Asda – A very Merry Chrinchmass
Asda was probably alarmed by this year’s surveys suggesting that consumers had decided to save money on their Christmas shopping, and so it has gone into battle with an offer of attractive prices. The Grinch, who sings his own version of “Let It Snow” in the advert, is proof that no one can resist Asda’s favourable prices.
Video: Asda – A very Merry Chrinchmass
Conclusion
This year’s Christmas campaigns clearly show that television advertising still plays a unique role in the marketing calendar and, even in an age of fragmented media channels, remains the perfect storyteller of stories that people genuinely remember. Television can bring into our homes the warmth, humour and gentle nostalgia that are an inseparable part of Christmas. This year’s campaigns are a beautiful proof of that: they are thoughtful, human and full of emotion. Which one did you like best?