The countdown to Christmas is almost on…🎄🎁
Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night are done and dusted, we can turn our attention to Christmas and the DreamingFish team couldn’t be more excited for the festivities to begin! As we head into the month of December, it’s time for our annual rating of this year’s Christmas adverts. Big time retailers like Waitrose, M&S, Tesco, Aldi (amongst others) are once again throwing their hats into the ring to win the prestigious title of “Best Christmas Advert of the Year” but who will take the crown? Will the 2024 entries be better than last years? In no particular order, let’s dig into part 1, shall we? Grab a glass of something nice, sit back and enjoy.👇🏼📖🎅🏼
Sainsbury’s |BIG Christmas🦶🏼
For their 2024 Christmas advert, Sainsbury’s have opted for a somewhat familiar face to star in their video this year; any guesses as to who it could be? It’s none other than Roald Dahl’s BFG (big friendly giant) because that just screams Christmas, right? If like me, you were unsure on the relevance of The BFG and Sainsbury’s, I did some digging and the common denominator is Sainsbury’s 2024 Christmas campaign slogan; “to create a Big Christmas for everyone.” Because of their slogan, Sainsbury’s partnered up with the Roald Dahl Story Company to create this “phizz-whizzing” advert. When asked about their collaboration, Director of Global Product and Partnerships at the Roald Dahl Story Company, Natalie Hopkins said: “By collaborating with Sainsbury’s to bring Roald Dahl’s beloved BFG to life in a new story, we hope the nation is as captivated as we are to see two old friends back together this Christmas.” Don’t get me wrong, this is a light-hearted and very well made ad (credit to New Commercial Arts agency) and it’s so much better than Sainsbury’s 2022 weird tudor-themed “Once Upon a Pud” entry, but for me, BIG Christmas doesn’t quite take place on the podium. But hey, if big-eared friendly giants are your kinda thing, you may just love this one!
Sweet Suspicion: A Waitrose Mystery 🔎
Compared to it’s competitors, Waitrose have opted for a very different approach to their Christmas advert this year, and I for one absolutely love it. Centered around a ‘who dunnit mystery’ theme, Waitrose’s delicious ‘red velvet bauble dessert‘ gets stolen from the fridge on Christmas day – the horror! But who is the culprit? Your choice of suspects are an all-star cast including Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen, Sian Clifford (Fleabag’s sister!), Joe Wilkinson, Rakhee Thakrar, Dustin Demri-Burns and Eryl Maynard (who has appeared in Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple…coincidence?), 2 kids and oh, even the cat is a suspect!
The two part advert (part 2 premiering on….) was created by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi and was directed by BAFTA winning drama and comedy director, Lucy Forbes. When asked about the festive 90second advert, Chief Creative Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi, Franki Goodwin, said: “When an idea is so good, and the brand is so loved, that actors we’re not typically used to seeing in ads show up and steal the scenes – and the pudding – you know you’ve got a Christmas treat on your hands.” One of the many great things about this ad is the audience interaction; what a genius idea to get people involved in the ‘who dunnit’ case. Did you know you can vote on Waitrose’s website for who you think the pudding thief is? As of today, the results are all fairly close but, who are you voting for?
Sweet Suspicion: A Waitrose Mystery generally gets a big thumbs up from Youtube viewers with one user saying “Please, please, PLEASE, give me a longer version, give me a film about this, I would like to see the whole story – and can’t wait for the second part!” But, there will always be those who don’t like something, right? “What a waste of 90 seconds.” “ Pathetic. The company is going downhill fast. Shame really.” Ouchhhh, some savage remarks there but pay not attention to them Waitrose; you get ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me!
Morrisons |Christmas TV ad 🧤
Following on from their successful 2023 advert, Morrisons are back with their all singing and all dancing oven gloves for this year’s advert. Set to the tune of ‘Give a Little Love’ by Bugsy Malone, the oven gloves come together to give a wonderfully muppet-esque musical performance, whilst showing Morrisons’ delicious range of Christmas food. The 60 second advert was once again created by global advertising agency, Leo Burnett and its gained relatively mixed reviews from viewers; “I absolutely love this. Once the tune is in your head, it’s staying. Such great fun. Well done Morrisons!” and “Sorry to say – it looks CRAP. Maybe they ran out of advertising budget? Does not inspire to shop at Morrisons!“.
Although I can’t deny that it’s an upbeat/fun advert, I’m a little bit disappointed. This year’s ad feels a bit like a copy from the 2023 one, as opposed to a step up from it. Where’s the creativity, Leo Burnett? Compared to last year’s #GloveOke, the singing oven gloves this year are voiced by a choir of 26 Morrisons employees, who got to record their version of the song at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London. Don’t get me wrong, this was a nice touch but it doesn’t quite save this advert for me… Better luck for 2025, Morrisons! #Disappointed.👎🏼
M&S | Christmas Food 2024🧚♀️
The lovely Dawn French features as Fairy (for the third year running) in this year’s advert for M&S Christmas food. Usually, Dawn French is known for voicing Fairy but this time, she makes her on-screen debut as herself! French plays a stressed out hostess who is slightly overwhelmed with the amount of things/prep she needs to do for the big day, until trusty Fairy comes to her rescue. Fairy waves her magic wand and gives Dawn French a makeover, brand new outfit and sets the table with a selection of delicious M&S food, all before the guests are due to arrive. An onlooking Dawn French says “that is reasonably impressive…oh PORK PIES!” When asked about her role in the advert, Dawn French said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be fluttering back this Christmas, and oh my wings, do we have a twist for you! Meeting Dawn French (yes, me!) on screen was a surreal, magical moment. Who knew? Anything can happen at Christmas!”
The advert perfectly exudes the feeling of Christmas (the excitement and anxiousness of hosting the festivities) and makes us all wish we had the help of Fairy to prep and get everything sorted for the big day, right?🧚♀️ M&S Food Marketing Director, Sharry Cramond shared “Last year, Fairy added that extra sparkle to Christmas, and this year, we’re going even further! Dawn French joins us in the campaign, and together, she and Fairy bring the magic to a whole new level.” Take note Morrisons’, this is how you step up your advert from 2023!
Aldi | Get into the Christmas Spirit with Kevin The Carrot 🥕
Kevin the Carrot is back again with another classic Christmas advert, and this time, he is joined by his wife Katie to save the Spirit of Christmas before it’s too late. Matched with the lovely voice of the legendary Jim Broadbent and a cleverly rhyming tongue in cheek script (“it’s a booby trap”) the lighthearted and amusing 90 second advert perfectly sums up the festiveness of Christmas. Although it’s only a relatively short advert (compared to others) the production level of this video is insane! Created by advertising agency McCANN UK and directed by Psyop’s Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick, McCann UK’s Chief Creative Officer, Dave Price says: “This year’s ad is a bit of a blockbuster, as Kevin goes on a quest to rescue the Christmas spirit. Once again Todd and Kylie, and all the team at Psyop have done an incredible job in bringing this story to life. We think Kevin’s got a good few assignments to crack yet.”
Kevin the Carrot has become an iconic character and one YouTube user commented saying “It wouldn’t be Christmas with Kevin the Carrot!” and I honestly, couldn’t agree more. This advert also gets my vote; it’s easy to understand, the message isn’t too deep and it’s not woke (unlike some of the other adverts out there…👀) it’s just very lighthearted and amusing – just as Christmas should be! Christmas adverts don’t always have to tug at the heart strings, do they? People need happiness and cheerfulness at this time of year, not sadness. And if you love Kevin the Carrot or this xmas advert, head over to Aldi’s website to get your hands on a range of different plush toys from the ad. Well done, Aldi! Watch the video below👇🏼🥕♥️
Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon!
What did you think of part 1’s entries? Keep an eye out for part 2 of the Christmas adverts blog where we deep dive into Tesco’s, John Lewis’, Boots and more! See you soon!👋🏼 📖
