The Christmas period is one of the most beautiful times of the year and is usually associated with family gatherings, love and gift-giving. In any case, however, it is also a period that each year prompts millions of people to go on a shopping spree — a key moment in the year when brands can not only benefit from the natural increase in spending on presents and celebrations but also establish a lasting emotional bond with their consumers. How? Through television campaigns imbued with tradition, nostalgia, powerful music, quality storytelling and an atmosphere of togetherness.
Television is the most powerful advertising medium
Thanks to its larger format and high-quality sound, television enables deeper immersion in a story, has a reputation as the most trustworthy medium, and can capture and hold viewers’ full attention. The fact is that watching Christmas adverts has now become an established ritual — viewers expect them, watch them together and discuss them. So, how will this year’s Christmas adverts from various brands fare with audiences?
This year’s campaign from Boots offers a new take on the classic fairy tale Puss in Boots. Puss is doing some last-minute gift shopping before the Snow Queen’s ball and turns to his faithful mirror for advice. The mirror sends him on a journey from a snowy fairy-tale land to a busy British street, where he sets off in search of the most beautiful Christmas gifts for his beloved friends. Juliana Paracencio, Executive Creative Director at VML/The Pharm, commented: “This campaign is our own little Christmas fairy tale. A story where magic meets meaning. Gift Happily Ever After invites people to see the season differently, with warmth, joy and a lot of fun, all told through the eyes of our fairy-tale feline, who, once you see it, is impossible not to associate with Boots.”
Video: Boots – Gift Happily Ever After
After two successful years of collaboration that resulted in Shaun the Sheep, iconic British brand Barbour has once again teamed up with Aardman. This year’s Christmas advert, however, does not feature the adorable sheep, but the duo Wallace and Gromit. The Christmas campaign also includes a limited-edition range of Barbour jackets inspired by the animated characters Wallace and Gromit. The proceeds, however, will not go to Barbour — they are intended for the charity Oxfam. Wonderfully Christmassy, isn’t it?
Video: Barbour – Wallace & Gromit
Argos, by contrast, decided to use the same mascots as last year — the animated duo Connie the doll and Trevor the dinosaur. Alongside them, however, this year’s festive, slightly horror-themed parody also features The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird. The advert pokes fun at the prejudice that Argos sells “only toys” and shows a father whom Connie and Trevor force to take a look inside a magical showroom. Naturally, he manages to find everything he needs there and even impresses his wife with tasteful gifts.
Video: Argos – Thought we were just for toys?
Morrisons has titled its 2025 Christmas advert Making More of Christmas and approached it as a celebration of farmers and fresh-food producers, thanks to whom customers can enjoy the very highest quality on their festive table. The film begins in high summer, when a farmer cheerfully calls out “Merry Christmas” to a slightly confused dog walker. The scene then shifts to a Morrisons bakery decorated with Christmas lights, even though it is only August. From that moment on, the camera travels across Great Britain through the changing seasons, showing a fishing boat glowing with Christmas lights in the sunshine and a tractor adorned with festive lights, delighting carol singers at Halloween. The advert ends with the silhouette of Santa Claus knocking at the door before a Morrisons driver appears with Christmas shopping and closes the spot with the line: “At Morrisons, we’ve been growing, making, baking and crafting for your Christmas all year long.” The advert was created by the creative agency Leo UK.
Video: Morrisons – A Year in the Making
Home Instead enlisted Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin for its Christmas campaign. He returns as Kevin McCallister, but this time the danger does not come from burglars, but from the everyday risks faced by his ageing mother. In the advertising film Home But Not Alone, part of the Christmas campaign for Home Instead, a company providing home care for seniors, Kevin obsessively wraps his mother’s front garden in bubble wrap and draws up a “safety plan”. It is a touching look at moments that many people caring for their elderly parents know all too well. The campaign, created by FCB Chicago, uses nostalgia to draw attention to a current issue.
Video: Home Instead – Home But Not Alone
Renowned jewellery retailer Cartier has deployed serious Christmas firepower — panther cubs and their magical adventure in search of the most beautiful gifts in a luxury boutique at 13 rue de la Paix. A group of panther cubs escapes the doorman’s gaze, leaps out of a painting and embarks on mischief among the pieces on display, including the Panthère de Cartier watch and the Love bracelet. The advert A Magical Night reminds us that at Cartier, any dream can come true for those who believe in miracles.
Video: Cartier – A Magical Night in 13 Paix
Czech streetwear brand Footshop has bet — just as it did last year — on the charisma of popular actor Tomáš Hanák. In this year’s campaign, entitled Your Christmas. Your Rules, it celebrates individuality and tells the story of parents whose daughter has invited them to her home for the Christmas holidays. “There will always be differences between parents and children. Every generation has its own ideas about life, but that does not mean they cannot find common ground,” said Miloš Kočí, Creative Director of YYY agency, which is behind the campaign, commenting on the advert’s theme.
Video: Footshop – Your Christmas. Your Rules
In its Christmas campaign, Lego highlights the importance of time spent together and creative play during the festive season. The advert was created in collaboration between the in-house Lego Agency, beEpic and Walker Studios. The main characters are a brother and sister. The younger sister tries to bring her older brother — who no longer wants to play and prefers spending time alone — back into the family fold, bringing Lego figures to life in order to draw him back into play. A version of Lionel Richie’s famous hit Hello serves as the soundtrack.
Video: Lego – If It’s Play You’re Looking For?
This year, Pilsner Urquell entered the fray with the campaign The Unchanging Taste of Christmas, created by the creative agency B&T. It is the fourth campaign carried out as part of the communication concept The Art of Not Changing. Pilsner Urquell simply belongs to Christmas. “Every year, we repeat the same rituals, eat the same food and laugh at the same family jokes. And that is exactly where their magic lies. We did not want to create yet another campaign revolving around floating walnut shells, singing carols or the Christmas tree. For people, something completely different is most important at Christmas: the people around them — and those small but profound human moments that we all experience again and again every year and look forward to. Whether it is an argument about potato salad or about what to watch on television,” explained Ondřej Peša, Executive Creative Director at B&T, describing the campaign’s intention.
Video: Pilsner Urquell – The Unchanging Taste of Christmas
And that is by no means all. Some brands are saving the “best” until the very last moment. The Christmas wave is certainly not over — on the contrary, it is only gaining strength. So let us wait and see what Christmas campaigns are still to come.