Christmas crackers: this year's best festive ads

Lost crushes, lonely carrots & loads of cheer. Here are my fave 2022 Christmas adverts.

Since 1995, the arrival on our screens of something that sparkles and makes you want to sing along has ushered in Christmas. Yup, you got it, a fleet of twinkly red trucks making its way through a snowy landscape. Cola-Cola’s iconic annual advert has, for 27 years, announced that “holidays are coming”, so along with the illuminated lorry above, I say: it’s time for this marketeer’s Xmas break.?

Before I down tools for a fortnight of festive fun (and the gift of R&R from me to me), I want to share a few of my favourite Christmas ads. In new and creative ways, each pick goes beyond brand promotion to make viewers smile, inspire a feeling of togetherness, and unite us in shared traditions.

?Camelot: A Christmas Love Story

This year, with A Christmas Love Story, Camelot invites the nation to imagine the joy of winning the biggest prize of all: love.?

In this sweet ad from adam&eveDDB , two people meet on a train. The guy’s Crazy Frog ringtone sparks a conversation, and he eventually plucks up the courage to ask the woman to a New Year’s Eve party. She accepts and leans in for a smooch, interrupted by a hasty departure at her stop. The guy scribbles down his number on—you guessed it—a lottery ticket and chucks it out of the train window, but of course wet ground smudges the last few digits.?

I won’t spoil the rest of the three-and-a-half-minute film, directed by Oscar-winner Tom Hooper and set to a beautiful cover of George Michael’s Faith by Sleeping at Last. But you can guess where it’s going, transporting viewers from mere hope to the warmth and tingles of a magical destination.?

John Lewis: The Beginner

Also behind the 2022 John Lewis ad, The Beginner, adam&eveDDB are clearly on a roll this year. I've loved this heartwarming short film—made in partnership with Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland —since it first dropped in November.

It follows a middle-aged man getting to grips with a skateboard in the run up to Christmas. The poor soul face-plants concrete and tumbles into bushes, leaving him bruised and scraped, but each time he gets up, dusts himself off, and tries again. Why does the guy persevere? His motivations are revealed in the final scene when he and his partner welcome a certain someone into their home.??

The story closes with an important message about supporting kids in care. I stand behind any organisation that uses its platform to do good, so it’s fantastic John Lewis saw its much-anticipated Christmas ad as a chance to help improve the futures of disadvantaged young people.?

Aldi: Kevin the Carrot Returns

This year, Aldi revives Kevin the Carrot in its Home Alone-inspired Christmas ad, narrated by the legendary Jim Broadbent. The supermarket first teased the road to its lighthearted festive offering with a brief clip showing Kevin left behind as his family jets off to Paris for the holidays.?

In this full ad, the tale continues as mum Katie—delivering a “KEVIN” on par with Catherine O’Hara’s —realises her son is missing. Back at home, Kevin is “quaking in his roots” at the appearance of a jolly intruder. In a bid to flee, he slides down a zip-wire, only to “become a snowman’s nose”, but in reality landing a fair bit further south. A cheeky line—love it.?

An early scene at the airport shows a generosity of spirit like that in The Beginner, when one of Kevin’s adorable siblings donates their pocket money to award-winning giving platform Neighbourly . Really nice touch.?

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Listen, I could carry on listing my favourite 2022 Christmas ads until they make way for Easter campaigns, but there’s a mince pie with my name on it. Which ads do you think rocked the perfect festive vibe this year??

Until next time, be glorious, stay well, and have a very merry Christmas.?

The views expressed in this blog represent my personal opinions and not necessarily the position of EY.