With Christmas only one week away, I had a disconcerting festive realisation — I have not seen this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert. Not only have I not seen it, but I can’t tell you the theme, whether there’s a tie-in shoppable character, or name the acoustic heartstring-tugging cover they’ve used as the soundtrack.
While part of this ignorance is due to the fact I rarely watch live television with commercial advert breaks, I still frequent the same online spaces where the annual advert release used to spark lively discussions: namely LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) — two places where no one is ever too shy to express their opinions on brand marketing. But in both of these hotspots, I’ve not heard a peep about John Lewis — what does this mean?
Of course, we know that the TV advertising landscape has radically changed with the rise in popularity of streaming services. According to the Attest 2024 UK media consumption report, UK consumers are significantly more likely to spend time watching streamed TV than live: 60.6% stream for at least an hour a day versus 36% who watch live.
As more of us spend less of our time glued to live TV, it’s harder for brands — even those with mega name recognition — to have their ‘big moment’ in the festive season with so much competition. A TV spot on a primetime Saturday night entertainment show no longer guarantees nationwide discussion and a top ten UK chart position for the affiliated cover song.
A quick Google search of John Lewis’s advert shows that while the unusually simple storyline of a young woman shopping for a gift for her sister (without a monster or alien in sight) struck an emotional chord with some viewers, many found themselves needing to watch the video several times to get the message. At a time when fewer of us regularly watch TV adverts, brands can’t rely on repeated exposure to a campaign for it to make an impact.
So, what can brands do to make their adverts the talk of the festive period in the streaming era? Suggesting that they adapt to today’s trends might feel instinctive, but that’s not always the answer — just ask Coca-Cola.
The soft drinks giant is synonymous with videos of big red lorries and its catchy “Holidays Are Coming” jingle, which feels like one of the true signifiers that Christmas is on its way when it reappears each year. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? Well, not according to Coca-Cola. This year, the company decided to add a new twist to its classic Christmas campaign by creating a homage to its 1995 advert through the power of AI. The result looked pretty uncanny, and received backlash from social media users who described the video as “soulless” and “devoid of any actual creativity”.
Despite what top execs might think, consumers aren’t impressed by brands flaunting their use of cutting-edge technology. They respond to brands that keep their advertising authentic while embracing changing trends.
Even though John Lewis’s Christmas advert didn’t make a big splash this year, its grocery subsidiary Waitrose got the nation talking with its star-studded ‘whodunnit’ style advert, ‘Sweet Suspicion: A Waitrose Mystery’. Starring actors including Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen and Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, this two-part advert centres around the mystery of who stole The No.1 Red Velvet Bauble Dessert from the fridge. Its clever but clear concept led it to be crowned the best Christmas advert of 2024 on many round-up lists and by plenty of social media users, and Waitrose’s omnichannel approach to engaging users in the mystery through clues on YouTube and Instagram is a perfect example of how to bring traditional advertising into 2024.
But brands don’t need a BBC drama-level production quality and a cast of famous faces to create a Christmas advert that delights even the biggest Grinches. One campaign I saw shared time and again on my social media timelines was also one of the simplest of the year: Gap’s ‘Give your gift’.
The strikingly straightforward video features a group of up-and-coming performers, dressed in colourful clothes from the brand’s CashSoft knit collection, singing an acapella rendition of Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” in front of a plain white background. There are no props, no gimmicks — just a group of incredibly gifted singers and feelings as warm and fuzzy as a cashmere Gap jumper. The video hit all the right notes with consumers, racking up a massive 51m views on TikTok, where users praised the campaign’s nostalgic feel and demanded the cover be released on Spotify.
In the battle of the Christmas ads, it’s obvious that brands can no longer rely on tried-and-tested tactics to outperform the competition. It takes more than a big budget and buckets of festive sparkle to impress today’s audiences — it’s all about delivering authenticity and a clear message.
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Photo credit for banner image: Coca-Cola, Gap, John Lewis.
