‘Christmas adverts have become too centred around a carrot and a bunch of copy-carrots’

Having watched every Christmas ad more than a few times while reviewing them for Retail Week, my overriding sense is that while there are a lot of lovely treats in some of those Christmas crackers, the category overall would benefit from a do-over.

Please don’t write me off as a grinch quite yet, I see this more as an opportunity for retailers to do so much more next year and lead a new approach to this most significant advertising (and retail) moment. 

Back in the early days of the Christmas ad, it was a race to see who could make the most people cry – a classic advertising ploy. Then, as we moved into the era of purpose advertising, it was all about your charity tie-up and what good you could do. Commendable and very retailerish. Then, post-Covid, we got the “let’s bring everyone back together/f*ck it let’s enjoy ourselves this year” tropes. Storytelling with a sprinkling of tears on top like a little dusting of sad snow. But now comes the influx of brand characters. 

Retailers led all of these step changes, and it’s time to do it again.  

Because this year, the festive fare seemed to be based around a carrot and a crop of copy-carrots. While creating a consistent Christmas character may drive some brand attribution if it’s stuck to year on year, I couldn’t always see what else they were driving. There seemed to be very few product messages, all the Christmas food tables were broadly generic, and even the storylines were samey, with all of the characters rescuing an at-risk Christmas in one way or another.

More importantly, with a couple of notable exceptions, there didn’t seem to be much that resembled a people or nation-focused insight. 

“For me, retailers have the opportunity to lead the way next year by focusing on something they have that other sectors simply don’t – those wonderfully rich customer insights that you’re all sitting on. This is where you can find what consumers think is the true meaning of Christmas”

Having run retail accounts such as Tesco and Co-op for many years across my career, I can honestly say one of the greatest joys of working in retail, especially heart of the nation retail, is just how many unique opportunities there are to tap into cultural insights. The national mood, key trends, emerging opportunities and warning signs, in real-time. How people are feeling and what they want can be felt in the aisle, both virtually and with bricks-and-mortar. 

As retailers, you are so naturally connected to the mood of a nation that you can find these people-focused insights and create your Christmas ads around them. 

And once you have the mood of the nation nailed, then you can start telling stories and delivering messages like we know top-quality retail advertising can. 

Cressida Holme-Smith is chief executive of Lucky Generals