2023's Most Effective Christmas Ads: Coca-Cola vs Aldi

System1 and Kantar's research indicates that this year's Christmas ads have been incredibly effective, with Aldi and Coca-Cola emerging as the leading brands for their festive campaigns.

System1's data reveals that Aldi's 'Kevin and the Christmas Factory,' which showcases its beloved recurring character Kevin the Carrot, has received the highest score among all Christmas ads. This marks the fifth consecutive year that an ad starring Kevin the Carrot has achieved a 5-star rating, and it is also the second year in a row that the brand has earned a perfect score of 5.9.

Coca-Cola's enduring 'Holidays are Coming' ad is followed by Amazon's 'Joy Ride', The Works' 'Unwrap Real Value Gifts', M&S Food's commercial featuring Dawn French's fairy, Morrisons' singing oven gloves ad, and Barbour's 'Shaun the Sheep x Baa-Bour', all of which also receive a 5.9 star rating. System1 breaks the tie by awarding Aldi as the most effective, factoring in its Spike rating which forecasts short-term sales impact.

The remaining top 12 include Lidl (5.8 stars), Disney (5.7), Sainsbury's (5.7), Vodafone (5.6), and Duracell (5.4).

Kantar's data, gathered from 3,600 consumers, has determined that Coca-Cola's 'Holidays are Coming' is the top-performing Christmas ad of the year. It is worth mentioning that the new 'The World Needs More Santas' ad by Coca-Cola did not make it onto the rankings.

In 2023, Kantar recorded the strongest year for effectiveness and entertainment, with McDonald's 'Fancy a McDonald's this Christmas' campaign ranking second, followed by Cadbury's 'Secret Santa' and Duracell's 'Bunny Saves Christmas'.

McDonald’s had the highest score for delivering laughs, ranking among the top 2% of the UK’s funniest ads according to Kantar’s research. Their campaign made over a quarter of Brits laugh out loud, as revealed by face-tracking technology. Overall, this year's Christmas ads have shown a 67% improvement in effectiveness, based on metrics such as consumer enjoyment, entertainment, and brand incorporation, according to Kantar. This is a significant improvement compared to 2021, when festive campaigns performed in the bottom 16% of all ads on average.

Recurrent success

Jon Evans, chief customer officer at System1 called 2022 a “record-breaking” year for Christmas ads but says marketers have topped it this year with even higher scores.

16 brands achieved a 5-star rating for their Christmas campaigns last year, with five of them receiving the maximum rating of 5.9. According to System1 data, this year 20 brands' ads received 5-stars, with seven of them scoring 5.9-stars. "It's all thanks to advertisers embracing consistency and incorporating familiar characters such as the M&S Fairy and Kevin the Carrot, along with a strong emphasis on traditional elements like Santa," he explains.

The data from Kantar confirms that using recurring characters and fluent devices is effective for brands. According to Lynne Deason, head of creative excellence for Kantar UK, ongoing campaigns consistently rank in the top 20% of all UK ads for effectiveness.

According to Deason, the Cadbury ad did extremely well in 2023, even outperforming its 2022 performance and making it one of the top four ads. She emphasizes the importance of consistency in achieving success, pointing out that ongoing campaigns have proven to be effective in being remembered and associated with the brand, amplifying its impact. The brand cues for new ads this Christmas are at average levels, while ongoing campaigns are among the top 20% of all UK ads, indicating their strong impact and potential to enhance the brand's effectiveness.

The difference is particularly noticeable in terms of long-term effectiveness. According to Kantar, new Christmas ads rank in the top 40% of ads overall, whereas continuation ads typically rank in the top 5% on average. McDonald's has also utilized its successful brand platform 'Raise Your Arches' for its Christmas campaign, although it is not included in the System1 effectiveness charts.

However, as Morrisons’ presence in the System1 top 12 demonstrates, “new” ads can also score particularly highly, provided they convey emotion and a message coherently.