Christmas Ads 2024 Or: How (Not) to Strengthen Your Brand

The scent of roasted almonds in the air, lights in every window—and million-dollar ads in every commercial break. No doubt: it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Christmas is Europe’s Super Bowl—at least from an advertising perspective. As the world outside turns festive, the most elaborate productions of the year vie for our attention. The timing is perfect: the season of love is emotional, the weather outside is frightful, and our TVs are so delightful. Rarely is the European audience as cheerful and cozy as during Advent.

Every year, companies compete for this jolly attention. But to even enter the fray, advertisers undertake monumental efforts—both in producing the films and securing media placements.

But what does it achieve from a brand perspective? Where should all this hard-earned attention lead? Specifically: how do these blockbuster ads contribute to brand building and brand perception?

Let’s find out. 

How Does Brand Building Work? 

We analyzed 13 current Christmas ads to see how (and if) they help their respective brands. Every piece of brand communication, no matter how lavish, must achieve two essential goals: it must be distinctive externally, so as to stand out, and coherent internally, so as to present and position the brand credibly.

In simpler terms, distinction is about uniqueness, while coherence ensures recognisability. Translating these requirements into a framework, we get the following four-quadrant matrix:

Gingerbread Men: Low Distinction, Low Coherence

Let’s start in the bottom-left quadrant: the ‹Gingerbread Men›. These are stiff, uninspired films with little distinction or coherence. Quickly forgotten, they fail to contribute meaningfully to brand building.

Far underneath the Christmas tree are Hamburg-based brands Tchibo and Otto. Their ‹stories› lack depth and feel more like promotional leaflets in video form. For Tchibo, this is oddly consistent—after all, while the retailer offers an astounding variety of products, storytelling isn’t one of them. Otto, however, is now rolling out much smaller batches than in previous years, when their Christmas ads were highly distinctive (though not particularly coherent).

Sky also lands here with its ad featuring Harry Kane, flanked by ‹Squid Game› villains. While the short story showcases the product and target audience, the choice of brand ambassadors is puzzling: ‹Squid Game› is closely tied to rival Netflix, and Harry Kane appeared in an ad for key competitor Amazon Prime Video Sports just last year.

But that’s nothing compared to the protagonist of Mediamarkt-Saturn’s spot. Jürgen Klopp has been the face of so many brands (deep breath): Opel, Nivea Men, Snickers, Deutsche Vermögensberatung, Erdinger, Warsteiner, Puma, Peloton, Kinder, Ergo, Seat, Volksbank... The list goes on. To make matters worse, his popularity has recently taken a noticeable hit. It’s safe to assume the contract with the electronics giant was signed long before the other one—with Red Bull—came to light. From a storytelling perspective, it’s a real shame, especially since Mediamarkt-Saturn stood out last year with a particularly original Christmas ad.

Reindeer: Low Distinction, High Coherence

The bottom-right quadrant houses the ‹Reindeers›: loyal and coherent brand vehicles that struggle to stand out in the crowded Christmas advertising space.

Lidl’s ‹Magical Christmas› ad tells the story of a girl whose greatest Christmas wish is to help others. So far, so thoughful. The message is cohesive, as it aligns with the brand’s promise of making life affordable. The strong use of logos and brand colors ensure some distinction, but the narrative itself is as forgettable as it is heartwarming.

The retail giant Amazon is once again active in the Christmas advertising arena this year. Its latest contribution, 'Midnight Opus,' is inspired by a true story: the tale of a janitor who suddenly finds himself in the spotlight on a grand stage. The set design is impressive, the singing enchanting, and the brand connection somewhat plausible—after all, Amazon can provide everything you need on short notice, even the right suit. But in the end, the staging, storyline, and message ultimately cancel each other out, leaving the audience entertained but unsure about what to take away.

Christmas Gnomes: High Distinction, Low Coherence

The top-left quadrant is home to the ‹Christmas Gnomes›: ads that stand out due to their quirkiness but fail to reinforce the brand meaningfully.

This year’s prime example comes from Coca-Cola. Their spot is the talk of the town, but for all the wrong reasons. Created almost entirely using AI, the ad stirred up backlash. But why, you might ask. Coca-Cola has the best brand assets in the world, and its Christmas stories are virtually the same year after year. After all, we have this company to thank for Santa Claus wearing red! The issue: Coca-Cola’s core promise: «It’s the real thing!» was completely undermined by this technological stunt.

The other two ‹Gnome› entries are far less dramatic. Aldi’s ‹Kevin the Carrot› is more coherent simply because the animated vegetable protagonist is back for a second consecutive mission. The action parody is elaborately staged and entertainingly told. However, what this has to do with the discount supermarket remains anyone’s guess.

The final ‹Gnome› could almost have been a ‹Star›—but just almost. Barbour’s ad is a full-fledged episode of the cult children’s series ‹Shaun the Sheep› created by the same animation studio. Barbour jackets warm the shivering sheep, even the shopping bags make an appearance, and the spot’s title (‹Baa-bour›) alone deserves applause for its clever wordplay. Yet the ad’s whimsical tone feels out of sync with the aspirations of Barbour’s target audience, rendering it somewhat incoherent.

Christmas Stars: High Distinction, High Coherence

The top-right quadrant belongs to the ‹Christmas Stars›: those who mastered the art of brand strategy. They achieve high distinction through original storytelling and high coherence by tightly aligning with their brand promises. Here, significant production efforts are rewarded with sustainable brand building.

First up is John Lewis. The British department store has practically invented the Christmas ad genre and has kept the tradition alive since 2007. This year’s spot, ‹The Gifting Hour›, is as enchantingly whimsical as we have come to expect from the brand. Over the past two decades, John Lewis has achieved something remarkable: being instantly recognizable through tone alone—without the need for a specific cast or plot. This is brand storytelling at its finest.

Waitrose, Britain’s go-to for upscale grocery shopping (owned by John Lewis, by the way), also hits all the right notes. The mystery of a stolen pudding is told in the style of Agatha Christie, with an all-star cast led by Matthew Macfadyen as the master detective. With its actors, storyline, brand connection, and two-part execution, ‹Sweet Suspicion› is one of the season’s undeniable winners. 

The final entry comes from a German company—Deutsche Telekom. Their spot, ‹Bubbles›, tells a story as timeless as Romeo and Juliet yet as relevant as ever. The modern fairy tale about two girls breaking through their filter bubbles (or snow globes) has it all: charm, creativity, stunning visuals, and a heartwarming Christmas message that reinvents Telekom’s perennial promise: «connecting people».

Brand Strategy Meets Christmas Advertising

This analysis highlights three key takeaways:

1. Christmas is Europe’s Super Bowl. The most elaborate productions meet the most discerning audiences, as people want to be entertained in their cozy holiday settings. The best ads are willingly shared, discussed, and celebrated—offering immense potential for extraordinary brand building.
2. Successful brand building requires an original idea paired with a plausible connection to the brand. The ‹Christmas Stars› from Telekom, John Lewis, and Waitrose deliver fresh narrative impulses and key visuals that enrich their brands. To be fair, ads from categories like ‹Gingerbread Man›, ‹Gnome›, or ‹Reindeer› can still work for short-term sales boosts. But they don’t achieve long-term effects for brand building.
3. Standing out in the competitive Christmas ad landscape is not an end in itself. Coca-Cola delivered the most talked-about ad this year—because it was the most hated. A multimillion-dollar production that not only failed to strengthen its core promise but actively eroded it. Waitrose, on the other hand, demonstrates how to stand out positively, with storytelling, casting, brand alignment, and even the two-part media strategy working seamlessly together.