Christmas Ads 2025: Our Top Picks

They swoop in with their drama and emotion, like they have an agenda to either make us cry or laugh out loud before we’ve even left the house. 2025 has not disappointed, with this year’s offering bringing a mix of nostalgia, heartfelt moments, creative risks, cameos we have LIVED for, and joyous collaborations to get us in the Christmas spirit, and drive demand during a busy Q4. 

As a team obsessed with great creative campaigns (with differing opinions, for sure), we’ve rounded up our standout campaigns – whether that’s for positive or negative reasons – with a poll that crowns our favourite Christmas Ad with a majority vote. I know, how democratic of us.

It was noted in the Resting Pitch Face podcast how people don’t tend to make a big deal about ads all that often (other than on LinkedIn). People try to avoid them, thanks to the fast-forward button by TV providers, and being able to pay to skip the ads across multiple streaming services. But Christmas and the Super Bowl are different. People want to watch the ads, discuss them, and comment on them, which is why they have become such a staple of the Christmas period. Here’s what we’ve noticed in the 2025 line-up.

Nostalgia has been a key fixture in a lot of Christmas campaigns, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. People enjoy looking back, using cues to create that instant emotional connection. 

Take the John Lewis ad, featuring the 90’s club classic, ‘Where Love Lives’ by Alison Limerick, with a feature from Labrinth, weaving music and memories together, and Pandora leaning into the Wes Anderson-style world, offering that retro comfort, whilst still looking premium. Barbour tapped into heritage and craftsmanship, reminding audiences of decade-long family traditions and classic British style, with the feature of Wallace and Gromit to match.

AI made a bold leap from behind the scenes to centre stage in the new Coca-Cola ad, using it to reimagine their iconic festive universe for the second year in a row. There are some negative implications to this, as creative minds are being left behind while AI does all the work. 

Is AI going to replace classic Christmas sentiment? I don’t see it. While it’s great to help brands move more efficiently and experiment, I can’t see it replacing the minds of those who experience Christmas first-hand.

There’s been a lot of comedy and feel-good ads this year, but there’s also been campaigns that have spread a bit of reality into the season.

The line between ‘advert’ and ‘short film’ has never been blurrier. 

As mentioned, people don’t like the interruptions of ads between their TV shows, so marketers have taken that on board and staged their ads as entertainment, with elevated production to help get audiences attention. 

Take the Waitrose Christmas ad, which delivered a full rom-com short film (maybe a slight exaggeration) starring Joe Wilkinson and Kiera Knightley, complete with a meet-cute, humour, and heart, or John Lewis’ ad, which is usually longer than a standard ad. 

Don’t be an inconvenience to your audience, be something they enjoy watching between their show segments.

Long-running characters and familiar creative universes helped to strengthen brands this year.

In a world where TikTok and short-form content is becoming more and more popular, it would be a shock if there wasn’t any brand campaigns that delved into humour or meme culture, when even big brands such as Netflix use memes frequently in their social media strategy. In the aldi advert, there’s plays on adult humour whilst still being popular with children through the animated style and story.

Then we have Itsu – not a brand you’d associate with Christmas. That’s why their social media short-form content, ‘the saddest christmas ad’ focused on their sales dipping, and how they will patiently wait until January, when people want to focus more on their health and hearty foods. 

They didn’t just incorporate wit and humour, but also a cameo of Wealdstone Raider, an internet celebrity in meme culture. He used some iconic lines from his viral video, with a ‘dim sum’ twist.

Humour is highly shareable, driving online conversations and helping campaigns to reach new audiences organically. 

Despite all the production upgrades, the campaigns that resonate the most still focus on relationships, warmth, and shared traditions.

Well, it’s the time you’ve all been waiting for…what’s the most popular advert amongst us at Flaunt? Let’s talk through the top three. 

Aldi’s Christmas ad hits the nail on the head when it comes to appealing to all audiences, without diluting the cheeky brand personality. Packed with layers of humour, adults catch the jokes (we all heard the stag do one, right?) while the children are swept up in the characters and storytelling, with the opportunity to sell branded merchandise. This kind of multi-tiered writing is hard to pull off, but Aldi have the confidence to do it. They’re a powerful brand, with loyal online community and a completely fearless creative approach.

Then we have a slight contrast with John Lewis, who have delivered strong festive stories year after year. They’re the ones you usually need your tissues out for, focusing on emotional depth to resonate with audiences. They re-record songs especially for the ads, with proceeds going to charity, with the song itself becoming a trigger for memory and reach. The negative to this? The songs might have too much of an impact, and often people find themselves remembering the songs used in the ad, rather than the ad itself. But, it still has its ties back to John Lewis, and being a prominent brand during the Christmas period, can never be a bad thing. 

Together, the two bands showcase the opposite ends of the spectrum, with Aldi bringing wit, charm and cultural awareness, and John Lewis serving precision, emotion and polish.

Waitrose has delivered the standout Christmas ad for Flaunt in 2025 (though not everybody loved it here).

This is all the proof you needed that Christmas advertising is still one of the biggest showcases of the year for marketers, and brands approach it with wildly different formulas, but similar messaging and appeal. The strongest ads balanced emotion with creativity and sharing brand values. 

There’s no single winning formula for Christmas Ads, but the most effective are the ones that understand their brand tone, audiences, and aren’t afraid to try something new. When they’re done right, they’re the few ads people actually search up to watch.