Find out more about the most viewed Christmas ads and our top picks in this year’s seasonal offerings.
Top three similar to last year
With our background in advertising and design, we naturally take a keen interest in the TV Christmas campaigns – even if some of us are a little bah-humbug about them being aired too early in November.
Recently released Youtube viewing figures for 2021 reveal a similar pattern to last year.
In at Number 1 is the offering from JD Sports. This tells the story of a young man sent out by his mum to buy a last-minute turkey and becoming distracted by trainers and other appealing top-branded sportswear as he wanders through a variety of street scenes.
Unfortunately, he leaves it too late to get the Christmas dinner – but his family are doubtless pacified by their high-end gifts
JD Sports made it to Number 2 of the most watched ads last year, so they are obviously hitting all the right notes as sales of trainers and sportswear continue to grow.
The Smyths Toys offering slips down to Number 2 this year. Catchy, short and colourful and set to the tune of If I Were a Toy, it manages to get all of the top-selling brands into an action-packed setting in a park.
Our top pick
Unchanged at Number 3 is the offering from budget supermarket, Aldi. Entitled A Christmas Carrot, this one is by far and away our office favourite. Paying homage to both Dickens and The Snowman, it’s a tale of Scrooge in the form of a banana, being transported from his bedroom on a magic ride across frosty rooftops by Kevin, a carrot Father Christmas, to learn a powerful life lesson in caring for others.
It includes an ingenious appearance in vegetable form by footballer and child food poverty campaigner, Marcus Rashford.
Beautifully shot, the Aldi ad has the production values normally associated with John Lewis. The parting message that in order to be happy you have to be kind, is powerful without being saccharine.
We also enjoyed Bags of Joy from Boots. This carefully crafted story is the work of leading filmmaker, Tom Hooper. It sees Doctor Who and Victoria star, Jenna Coleman, being given a huge bag of gifts from her invisible grandmother which she distributes to family and friends. In the final scene, the pair reunite over a bottle of perfume.
Celebrating joy and the pleasure of giving, with a healthy dose of magic and charm, this felt both poignant and heart-warming.
But perhaps the days of the lavishly produced TV festive ads are numbered? The Co-op has staged something of a PR coup this year by ditching its traditional multi-million-pound campaign in favour of a simpler offering with the focus on food waste.
2021 has certainly been another big year for Christmas ads and it’s clear that people love a story they can become invested in, we already can’t wait to see what next year brings!
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this years top Christmas ads so feel free to send us an email at hello@chalkward.com.