Everybody loves Christmas, from the common folks saving up to buy some awesome presents, to the badass marketers waiting to throw the hook and rake in some massive sales.
This time of the year features an explosion of wild creativity from various brands as they strive to outdo their competition and get more people to know about them.
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Trending Christmas Video Ads in 2024
Whether you’re a marketer looking for inspiration, or just a regular Joe looking to binge on some awesome content, we have compiled a list of Christmas video adverts that are currently topping the charts.
These adverts might make you smile, make you cry, or just send a swarm of goosebumps all over you!
Ready? Let’s get to it!
Excitable Edgar | John Lewis & Partners ft. Waitrose and Partners
Do you love Game of Thrones? If yes, picture John Lewis as the Tywin Lannister of adverts, not just in the United Kingdom, but all over the world. He is known for making highly engaging, viral video ads, and this year, he decides to switch the game a few notches higher.
The Ad, Excitable Edgar, tells a heartwarming story of a little girl named Ava and a young dragon called Edgar. Feed your eyes!
Ultimate Comedy Roast Battle – Turkey vs Potato | Greenpeace
This ad, although it comes from the lighter side, is nothing short of brave. Greenpeace UK decides to take a shot at an alternative Christmas ad that aims to highlight the link between eating meat and deforestation. Sounds interesting, right? See for yourself!
Hafod Hardware Christmas Advert 2019
What makes this ad really stand out is that it costs only £100! This speaks volumes about how creative and efficient the makers of this ad were. Several people, including contributors from Mirror, The Guardian, and The Sun have ranked this tear-jerking advert above John Lewis’ classic! Sounds kinda unfair to John Lewis, though, but this ad is worth every second!
The story took just one day to film and features Arthur Jones, who is only two years old. It shows Arthur getting off the bed in the morning, cleaning up and going over to the family’s retail store, working hard, and smiling all day. Then, there is this twist at the end which you’d really like!
Gift the Thought | GAP
Gap decides to launch a ‘Gift the Thought’ campaign in a bid to celebrate relationships. On their website, Gap curated a list of thoughtful gifts for those who want to celebrate their special friends and loved ones differently this holiday, and the video ad that pushed this campaign is nothing short of awesome.
Nicholas the Sweep | Sainsbury’s |
In this ad, Sainsbury tells the tale of Nicholas the Sweep, a little boy that got caught ‘orange-handed.’ The little boy was banished, alright, but that is not how the story ends. This heartwarming piece of storytelling is good enough to put you in the mood for Christmas! And if you’re curious about what ‘orange-handed’ means, you’d find out soon enough!
Amazon Holiday 2019 – Brand: 90
Amazon is back with its singing boxes! In this charming ad, you’ll find a host of people singing a rendition of Solomon Burke’s ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ along with the boxes.
The Time Shop| Chick-fil-A
This two-minute ad takes you through the story of Sam, an eight-year-old who wants nothing more than some time with her family. She wanders into a large clock and discovers the ‘Time Shop.’ This enthralling story hopes to teach you how important the ‘Together Time’ is for the survival of a family.
Oscar the Grouch | Squarespace
In this hilarious ad, Squarespace shows how you can go from trash to treasure by just being on the right platform. It tells the story of Oscar who lives in a trash can, it only takes a moment of exposure to have the whole world coming to visit Oscar in his trash can!
The Surprise | Apple
Watch Apple unite a family with the iPad. This heartfelt masterpiece takes you along as a small family tries to comfort each other after a loss. The parents give their kids the iPad to keep them distracted, but what happens in the end is something they never anticipated.
Indeed, sometimes, our greatest gifts come from the most unexpected places.
A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas | Dogs Trust
This ad speaks to us in volumes about the way dogs are treated. The Dog Trust reports that last year after Christmas, over 5000 calls came in from people who wanted to hand over their dogs. Many of these dogs were Christmas presents!
In this video, Dogs Trust issues an engaging ad in reaction to this occurrence.
What Makes a Good Ad?
If you viewed every ad that made this list, you would have noticed a few things. Some are funny, some are emotional. Some are quite cinematic, while others made do with simplicity. However, below are some essential elements incorporated in these chart-topping ads. You need to pay attention to these when making your own ad.
- Target Emotions: Do you want to be funny, or do you want to drench your audience in a rain of goosebumps? Have this sorted out before you proceed with your plot.
- Storytelling: Storytelling has proven time and again to be the best way to get your audience hooked. An awesome storytelling approach will have them glued to the screen, and they’d never have to argue with your Call To Action.
- Highlight your Brand’s Values—creatively: Of course, ads are majorly for making sales. But in a time when everybody is sensitive to the commercial nature of everything that moves on their screen, you have to bring something else to the fore. Approaching specific delicate subjects, for example, The Importance of Friendship, or Giving for Love, etc., will still sell your brand to your audience while keeping them enlightened and comfortable.
- Your Call to Action: For the same reason stated above, your Call to Action should be mildly subtle. If you’re going to go hard and just encourage them to head over to your store, you may need a little more luck to get results. The trick to cracking this is to put your audience first and let them know your brand cares. For example, if you sell sweaters, a simple Have a Warm Christmas! Will help you build trust and awareness and eventually lead to some sales. Apparently, people think differently during Christmas, but that’s fine.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter if you’re a small business or a non-profit organization, you cannot overestimate the power of ads. Large companies regularly invest thousands into making one-minute video ads to boost brand awareness and outdo their competition. However, from the story of the folks from Hafod Hardware, you do not have to break the bank to make a ground-breaking ad.
Just put on your thinking hats and let your imaginations roam free!
If you’d like super awesome video editing software for creating the most fascinating ads, you should really check out Animotica.
There are a bunch of tutorials on the blog to help you become a pro in the game. In need of marketing video ideas for December? Be sure to check out our ultimate December video calendar.
You’re welcome!
