10 of the best Christmas video ads: Video Marketing Examples #6

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10 of the best Christmas video ads

Explore top Christmas video ads of 2020! From John Lewis' diverse styles to Barbour's real-life story, get inspired for your next video campaign.

Today we wanted to send out a round-up of ten that we’ve seen so far in 2020, with a few observations and takeaways for each one. So grab a gingerbread latte, sit back and spend a few minutes getting into the Christmas spirit (while getting some pointers for your next video campaign…)

John Lewis

• We often talk about the diversity of video style - and that’s totally exemplified here. John Lewis used this campaign to support a number of different creative studios during the pandemic, which explains the use of various visual styles - from live action to claymation, 2D and 3D animation.

• Despite this, the advert flows and feels coherent thanks to the use of one element from scene to scene. In this case, we see a ‘heart’ element that takes us through the video, tying the whole thing together and subtly signalling consistency to the audience even as the visual styles change. 

• This is an idea we often recommend to our clients to keep things flowing, visually interesting and consistent.

Coca Cola

• By our reckoning, we see the actual Coca-Cola product on screen for 2 seconds here - and with a run time of 2:30, that’s between 1% and 2% of the video!

• And yet it somehow works as an ad - because it concentrates on ‘what matters’ to the audience, and takes them on a journey.

• Remember, whatever product you’re selling, there’s a limited range of things that really ‘matter’ enough to build emotional resonance in your audience. This ad leans heavily on the power of family. 

• Sometimes, your big differentiator won’t be the finer points of your product or service but the promise offered by your brand. The team behind this ad know that, at some point, the viewer will face a choice between buying their product and ‘another’ almost identical cola drink - each ad, or campaign, then, is less about communicating features and benefits - but instead an investment in the emotional associations of their brand.

• If you’re selling a product with many competitors - with little to really set your product aside - then make your brand the point of difference: and remember that pulling on those few powerful emotional levers is the best way to generate an emotional response and make your audience really care.

McDonalds

• This is the most obvious pitching of a physical product so far, as we see an adolescent boy ‘growing up’ into a teenager - much to the sadness of his mother - only to be reconnected to his childhood by a trip to McDonalds. 

• While it physically depicts the product, it goes so much further than talking about the price, or the flavour, or the value. Instead, it taps amazingly well into what the product and the brand means; the fact that McDonalds, being a place many people first visit with their parents, represents a link back to childhood - something that keeps us young.

• By building a narrative around the idea of staying young at heart and overcoming the cynicism of adulthood, it creates an emotional rollercoaster of an ad that sticks in the memory - while also making us slightly hungry!

• Don’t just focus on what your product does - focus on what it means. What it stands for. What people experience during their journey with your brand. And then take every opportunity to reflect that whole package in your ads.

Disney

• As you’d expect from anything with the Disney logo on it, this one is stunningly beautiful to look at - and very emotionally charged!

• Again, we see the obvious story arc which leans on themes that universally pull on the heartstrings - family, growing old, Christmas and loss - but it’s all underpinned by a few more subtle messages relating to Disney’s heritage. In short, they were supplying beloved Christmas toys in the 1940s, and they still are. Disney gifts are gratefully received, long-lasting - and assume enormous meaning as the years go by.

• Try and understand what makes your brand special, and then amplify that through the magic of story. What’s more interesting - a simple statement that you’ve been doing this for 50 years and are experts? Or illustrating the actual scene 50 years ago, and showing what the customer experience would have looked like back then, and how that’s remained consistent until the present day?

Amazon

• It seems curious that, in a year so dominated by a global pandemic, this is the first ad we’ve looked at that openly calls that out. Here, we see a dance student’s hopes and dreams put on hold as her performance is cancelled. But her family rally around, buying costumes and supplies for her to hold her own performance in the street.

• This is surely relatable to us all -  most of us have had to improvise to patch up an event that we had big plans for, often finding to our surprise that it’s somehow even more special and memorable than what we originally had in mind. 

• What this advert does seriously well is to weave together story and brand. It doesn’t just show something sad, and then present the situation being resolved; it demonstrates how the convenience of Amazon, the speediness and reliability of delivery, all facilitate this and make it possible. ‘The show must go on’ the advert says, and Amazon positions itself not as the leading star, but definitely as a key support act.

• Identify your business ‘transformation.’ A business is simply a mechanism that takes its customer from state ‘A’ to state ‘B,’ whatever those states look like. Never forget this in your marketing, as tempting as it is to focus on your unique selling points. To coin an old phrase, what matters isn’t the pillow - it’s a good night’s sleep.

LEGO

• An ambitious live-action campaign from LEGO, this one subtly alludes to the pandemic with a strapline of ‘Let’s rebuild the world.’

• Again, we’re so often told that ads should talk about product features, benefits, values. You could talk about the number of sets available, the ease of construction, the hours of fun you can have playing with LEGO. But really, that’s all a given.

• Instead, the ad does something more powerful: calls out the escapism of LEGO, the fact that building and playing with LEGO offers an escape to a variety of different, creative, fun worlds.

• Rather than explicitly calling it out, the ad hints at the wide range of sets available with the variety of different ‘worlds’ featured - from astronauts, to Jedis, to princesses and beyond - with a wide breadth of different characters, old and young, male and female, representing the accessibility and widespread popularity of LEGO products.

• This is something we always recommend in the videos we create: your central characters in any video should represent your target market as clearly and accurately as possible. This saves you valuable time explaining exactly who your product is for, and builds a powerful sense of empathy.

Very

• With Christmas - as with advertising in general - it’s all too easy to resort to tropes and cliches. 

• This one from UK retailer Very is a refreshing departure - calling out the magic of a ‘real’ Christmas, with all its faults. It’s pragmatic, realistic and clearly aimed at regular working people. The family even starts watching a sickly-sweet, clearly-staged Christmas ad on their TV, only to react in obvious disgust!

• We all wish we could build a perfect world - but this ad is a good reminder to be pragmatic. The likelihood is, you can’t create a perfect life for your ideal customer. And that’s fine! You can use some of their other problems and concerns to build empathy, to show that you ‘get them’ - while also being crystal clear about the tiny corner of their life that you can really, genuinely help with.

Starbucks

• This one demonstrates that there’s more than one way to do it, and they can be equally effective!

• Whereas others go for 2-3 minute epics focusing on story, Starbucks have decided to very much put the product front and centre, giving people a clear idea of exactly which seasonal drinks await them, without any story or padding at all.

• It’s also short - 15 seconds - and wastes no time whatsoever in getting to the point, with the three Christmas drinks (and cups) right in the spotlight. 

• Going short-form? This is a masterclass. Focus on what your audience needs to know - and do not waste a second.

Barbour

• Firstly we absolutely love the visual style here, inspired by the legendary Raymond Briggs’ timeless Father Christmas stories from the 1970s.

• More than this, what’s interesting is that (spoiler alert) it’s inspired by a real customer story - which just so happens to underpin many of the hallmarks of the Barbour brand and product.

• As well as being a heartwarming story, touching on many essential Christmas themes - it sends the message that Barbour jackets are extremely premium products that are built-to-last. Indeed, in a blog post chronicling the true story behind the ad, Barbour wrote: “Each year over 60,000 Barbour jackets are returned for rewaxing, and 25,000 of these also undergo repairs. On top of this, over 100,000 tins of Barbour wax are sold each year so that Barbour jacket owners can do their own rewax at home. When cared for properly, Barbour jackets can last for a very long time, making them a sustainable choice.” So this is a very real service.

• Many of us, when thinking about the history of our brand, are able to call on remarkable real-life stories: the people we’ve helped, the impact we’ve made, the good we’ve done. Rather than resorting to caricatures, could you tell a real-life story about the impact you’ve made to a customer in this way? And, rather than doing it in a case-study or testimonial - could you do it through an animated ‘story?’

Lidl

• Finally, here’s one that calls out many of the tropes and cliches of Christmas ads, and flat out pokes fun at them!

• The irreverent tone of this one really grabs and holds your attention, with plenty of humour along the way. There’s a searing honesty that pulls you in, making it clear that there’s no story here - just great prices. “Could a friendship be ahead? No...it's a Christmas ad from Lidl with great prices instead!” “There's usually a moment where we want you to feel sad, but we don't have time - look, sparkling wine! This cheese will make you feel so glad…”

• Do a little research into your competitors: Take a look at what’s happening in your industry and how your competitors position themselves and ask yourself: are there any tropes? Any cliches? Anyone taking themselves far too seriously? Are there any ways you can call it out, make yourself the ‘plain English’ realistic, pragmatic alternative? Speaking in this way can really build trust, credibility and make people gravitate towards your brand with belief that you can deliver on your promise.

Feeling inspired?

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