Top Christmas commercials of 2021

Christmas 2021 is here! Wait, what? Because of the global pandemic, time seems to fly by these days. Not because we are doing so many things, but because most days are very alike. Looking back, it feels like almost no time has passed. But here we are, almost at the end of the year. Another Christmas with restrictions. Although some countries reinstated more than others, it won’t be the carefree Christmas with the whole family that everyone hoped for.

Still, the world is preparing for Christmas and trying to make everything look a little brighter. The world is tired of corona, and we also see it in the Christmas ads. Whereas last year, many Christmas ads touched upon corona, this year, the Christmas commercials have got their pre-2020 groove back. Most Christmas ads are aired on TV and are generally emotion-heavy, long, and cinematic. Brands try to connect the positive Christmas feeling to their brand. Especially in the UK, many consumers eagerly await the festive commercials. What will John Lewis do this year, and who will be the successor of Kevin the Carrot of Aldi? Now that Christmas is a few days away, it is time to make up the balance. Which Christmas commercials are evaluated best by consumers?

Christmas commercial Aldi UK 2021

Study in three countries

We tested the different Christmas ads in our pretesting template. The study was conducted in the Netherlands, of which a preview of the results of supermarket ads appeared in Adformatie, the UK, and Germany. For each country, we created a commercial reel with only Christmas ads that compete for the attention of the consumer. The reels consist of different supermarket commercials, but also other (large) brands from different countries. In our test we do not only let consumers evaluate the commercials, we also put them in a commercial block where respondents indicate how long they will watch the ad. This ‘unforced exposure’ methodology is a true display of reality, as consumers can also skip ads (for example by zapping or getting something to drink) when they are watching television at home. Later, we ask respondents what they remember having seen with regards to the brands as well as the message of the commercial.

The Dutch and English are fond of Christmas ads

Similar to two years ago, we find that Christmas commercials in the Netherlands and the UK are evaluated much better for direct response (e.g. whether respondents like the commercial, to what extent it evokes positive and relevant associations, whether they are distinctive, personally relevant) and brand activation (e.g. sharing with others and buying intent), whereas this is not the case for Germany. In Germany, the tested Christmas commercials generally score lower on our evaluation statements than an average commercial compared to the benchmark. However, the Dutch and English seem to be fond of Christmas commercials; the commercials are much better at evoking positive, relevant and unique associations. Also, the commercials score highly above the benchmark on different aspects, such as excitement, distinctiveness and personal relevance. As a consequence of this high evaluation, we also see that consumers are activated by the commercials, as they indicate they would like to share it with others and intend to buy the advertised product or service. Scores on these brand activation statements are in the top 20% regions (see Table 1). We indexed the scores to the specific country benchmarks so that it becomes clear how Christmas commercials score compared to regular commercials. A score lower than 100 is lower than the benchmark and above 100 is higher than the benchmark.

Table 1: Average index scores on direct response and brand activation

less engaging and do not always fit the brand

Our pretesting set-up enables us to determine how well commercials catch the attention of consumers and how willing they are to watch the commercial. Because most commercials are very long, we also notice this in the scores for engagement. Those are, for all three countries, considerably low. For the Netherlands, the average scores for engagement are around or even a bit below the benchmark. For both the UK and Germany, the average scores for engagement are more around the bottom 20% of our benchmark scores. Luckily, respondents still see quite a bit of the commercial since they are so long. When it comes to brand impact, Christmas commercials sometimes score lower, as the brand is not always (or even, generally not) the centre of the commercial. Instead, the commercial is usually focused on a story, and only includes a brand cue at the very end.

Because of these extended stories in the commercials that you have to closely watch to understand, some Christmas commercials don’t score well on brand fit, brand recognition, or message clarity. The average scores for these metrics for the Christmas commercials per country are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Average index scores for engagement and brand impact

Let us illustrate with some examples – that are not even badly evaluated per se! The commercial of Amazon UK tells the story of a young woman; we follow some parts of her life and learn that she is quite lonely. At the end of the commercial, she receives a gift, and only then the Amazon logo appears on the box. In other words, a very nice story, nice visualisations, but difficult to link to the brand, especially if you do not watch until the end. Another example that is almost cinematic in the sense that it does not ‘feel’ like a commercial, is from Penny (a discount supermarket in Germany). It tells the ‘hypothetical’ story of a teenage boy, told from the perspective of the mother of what she wishes for her son. She wants him to get his youth back, which is something that wasn’t really possible during corona for young people. Quite a heavy subject, and also being told and filmed in that way. While the commercial definitely covers an important topic, it will at the same time be difficult to follow if you are not 100% committed to the commercial and the link with the brand is difficult to make. Finally, an example from the Netherlands, from Plus (supermarket), tells the story of a teacher, who helps many people over Christmas but is lonely herself. In the end, the supermarket cashier (and student from her class) invites her for Christmas dinner. The story is nice, but it does not score very high on message clarity, which is probably because you have to pay close attention to the commercial to fully get the story.

which commercial is the best in each country?

The big question is, what are the best commercials in each country? We visually summarize this by plotting all tested commercials on the performance matrix we use as part of our pretesting methodology. This matrix has two axes, which are labelled breakthrough and brand building. Breakthrough is a combination of audience retained after 10 seconds, unaided brand recall and perceived message clarity. Breakthrough is an important metric because you want to break through the clutter with your ad so that consumers remember your brand and understand the message. Brand building is a combination of positive associations, excitement, and brand appeal. We focus on brand building because Christmas commercials are generally not focused on sales activation, but more on building the brand and leaving a positive impression of the brand. This is what you ultimately want to achieve with your commercial (breakthrough and brand building) and the direct response dimensions (enjoyment, excitement, distinctiveness, etc.) can help in explaining the strength of the commercial. We use these matrices in our pretesting reports for clients to help them identify how their commercials score relative to our benchmark and whether the commercial is ready to launch as is, or whether it needs modifying first.

top 3 the netherlands

Figure 1 shows all Dutch commercials that we have tested. You can observe that the tested commercials differ in their ability to break through the clutter and build the brand. About half of the brands perform well on brand building. Most other ads perform average or a bit below average on brand building. However, to make a difference, you should be able to break through the clutter – if a commercial is not sufficiently watched and remembered in the first place, it cannot be expected to have an actual impact on your brand. We also notice big differences across brands. Many commercials have difficulties breaking through the clutter, but some can do so and score average (in the grey) or even above average (in the green).

Figure 1: Overview of all tested Dutch Christmas commercials

The top 3 for the Netherlands consists of Lidl, Jumbo and Albert Heijn. This top 3 is slightly different than Adformatie communicated, as they determined the winner on the grade respondents gave to the commercial. However, we also take the breakthrough dimension into account. Based on breakthrough, Plus performs lower and thereby loses its spot in the top 3. So, what are the winning characteristics of these ads? First of all, Lidl is the absolute winner when it comes to engagement. They all perform very well on brand recall, with Jumbo being the absolute winner (+15% points higher score on unaided brand recall than number 2 on that metric), probably caused by the well-known family in the commercials and the constant presence of a brand logo in the commercial. The three commercials are all able to evoke associations that are positive, unique and relevant. They also score high on excitement, enjoyment, fit with the brand, distinctiveness, and understanding. This in turn ensures that the commercials can build the brand.

Top 3 Christmas commercials the Netherlands

Christmas commercial Lidl NL 2021

top 3 the united kingdom

Figure 2 shows all the UK Christmas commercials we have tested this year. For the UK ads, it is even more striking that they score well on brand building, as almost all dots are more to the right in the graph, but only a few can truly breakthrough. This is why none of the commercials are in green. So, if we would have tested them before launch, M&S Food and Aldi would pass, but all other commercials would need improvement before launch.

Figure 2: Overview of all tested UK Christmas commercials

So, for the UK, the top 3 best Christmas commercials of 2021 are M&S Food, Aldi, and John Lewis. M&S Food performs slightly better than Aldi. All three winners perform high on brand recall and message clarity, enjoyment, excitement, and evoke relatively many associations that are also mostly positive, unique, and relevant. Also, distinctiveness, personal relevance and understanding are relatively high. Furthermore, the commercials are good at building the brand, as these ads all score higher than the average UK Christmas ad on brand appeal, excitement and positive associations. When looking at the winner, the whole commercial breathes M&S Food as the ad is shot in the store.

Top 3 Christmas commercials UK

Christmas commercial M&S Food 2021

top 3 germany

Figure 3 shows all the German Christmas commercials we have tested this year. Here you can see that the German ads don’t perform well, as many are located in the lower-left part of the matrix, in the light red or red. They are not able to break through the clutter and build the brand. However, from these commercials, we can still appoint three winners. Those are Deichmann (shoe retailer), Netto (discount supermarket) and dm (drugstore). They all perform, compared to the other German Christmas commercials, well on evoking positive and unique associations, enjoyment and excitement, distinctiveness, and brand fit. They also score relatively well (compared to the other tested ads) on brand appeal and brand interest.

Figure 3: Overview of all tested German Christmas commercials

When looking at the German winner, we see that Deichmann has a very clear, clean, functional, and focused ad. It is all about shoes and that is what Deichmann stands for. Also, their brand logo is almost always visible.

Top 3 Christmas commercials Germany

Christmas commercial Deichmann 2021

Tradition

In summary, this year’s Christmas commercials performed very mixedly across the three countries. However, there is one main difference from last year. Corona-themed Christmas commercials have gone out the window (you will not be missed). The tradition of cinematic, tear-jerking, story-packed Christmas ads is reinstated. In true Andy Williams fashion, it is The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. We wish you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful 2022!