The Christmas advertising extravaganza is already underway. With the big day fast approaching, brands and marketers are working hard to capture the imagination of audiences.

From John Lewis spotlighting the importance of male relationships to Disney bringing to life the power of storytelling and Barbour borrowing beloved characters Wallace and Gromit to tell a tale of giving, this year advertisers are embracing new stories and approaches.

While the wider festive ad flurry is full steam ahead, beyond the traditional festive advertising spot brands are finding new ways to connect with audiences through experiential, brand partnerships, in-store and online activations. 

After a year of financial strain for many and ongoing global unrest, Christmas advertising offers the industry a time to embrace creativity and spread joy. With this in mind we asked the industry: Will 2025 be the year that joyful simplicity rules Christmas advertising?

Christmas ads in 2025 feel like they’ve finally started to take a breath. After years of trying to out-sparkle each other, some brands seem to have realised that the stuff people actually connect with is… well, simpler. Tesco has gone all-in on the “perfectly imperfect” Christmas — the awkward moments, the family politics. It feels bang-on. John Lewis favoured a tender father-son story, powered by a nostalgic 90s track that everyone suddenly remembers loving. Even Barbour’s Wallace & Gromit spot is charming because it’s small and warm, not because it’s trying to blow your socks off. And I quite like the Waitrose ad. Yes, Keira! But what a sweet story...bless dear Phil. 

Sure, there are still the big, glossy outliers — Coca-Cola’s AI makeover proves some brands can’t resist the shiny stuff. And they're definitely not alone when it comes to glitz and glamour. But the reaction shows the mood is shifting. People are craving soul, not scale. Warmth, not wizardry. Something that actually feels like their Christmas, not a parallel universe.

So, will 2025 be the year joyful simplicity rules? Maybe it already kind of is. The ads people are talking about are the ones that keep it real, focus on a genuine moment, and let the emotion do the heavy lifting. I'd like to say that simpler is landing stronger. I guess we'll have to wait and see...

Will 2025 be the year that joyful simplicity rules Christmas advertising? If John Lewis is still our festive barometer, then maybe not.

This year’s ad trades in nostalgia and nuance - a tender father-son story soundtracked by a 90s club classic. It’s stripped back, yes, but not simple. It’s joy through memory and meaning, not sparkle and slapstick. 

In contrast, sport is finding its own kind of joyful simplicity - one grounded in community, humour, and belonging. Football, in particular, is stepping into the Christmas ad mainstream. 

Clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool, and now Arsenal are creating festive films that wouldn’t look out of place between John Lewis and Coca-Cola yet feel unmistakably authentic to sport. 

These stories aren’t about consumer joy; they’re about collective joy - players, fans, and families coming together through shared ritual. And for clubs, they’re also smart business: the more hearts you win, the more followers you gain, and the more value you offer to sponsors. 

So perhaps joyful simplicity won’t rule 2025. But in sport, joy that builds belonging just might.

Following years of overly elaborate campaigns, audiences now crave genuine emotion, warmth, and relatable stories over big spectacles. This shift toward simplicity was perfectly captured by the in-person screening of the John Lewis advert last year. The event, held for media and top customers at its flagship store on Oxford Street, was a wholesome, meaningful experience. It was the first time the John Lewis store had starred in one of its main Christmas ads, so screening it in-situ not only helped the ad resonate, but created a communal experience in the process. 

Experiences like this prove that emotional connection and shared joy can elevate a brand far more effectively than grand production alone. As people seek more thoughtful and nostalgic connections, brands that focus on authentic storytelling, community engagement and meaningful experiences will connect best. In 2025, the most successful brands won't be the loudest or flashiest, but those that embody the genuine, human spirit of the season, reminding us that simplicity, done well, can be the most powerful form of joy.

Every Christmas, brands battle for attention. But the truth remains: simple ideas enter the brain quicker, and stay there longer. And this year, a few brands really stood out for me.

Waitrose is a clear winner. Joe Wilkinson and Keira Knightley drop straight into a warm, familiar Christmas-film world. It’s simple, distinctive, and instantly enjoyable - the kind of idea that doesn’t need explaining.

Sainsbury’s BFG is another standout. Building on last year’s work was smart. It landed, it sold product, and this year’s story does it again - showcasing food while weaving in the brand’s delivery service. A reminder that a single-minded idea can do everything.

Disney offers pure storytelling. A distinctive character, an emotional payoff, and the product at the heart. Christmas advertising at its strongest.

But despite the millions spent, not everyone quite landed it for me.

John Lewis returns to the Adam & Eve DDB playbook, with a brilliantly simple story. I just felt it missed the truly distinctive element this time around. 

The Morrisons spot feels a tad déjà vu - didn’t someone do this recently?

Then there’s Asda. On paper, the Grinch is a simple, distinctive choice. Being, well, Green. But for me, this totally betrays the Dr. Seuss character people know and love, and the performance ends up feeling more cringe than Grinch.

For me, Christmas advertising has the licence to entertain first rather than sell, and the brands that have a simple insight behind them, like Sainsbury’s, are the ones that will cut through and connect with audiences.

We always think about the UK Christmas ad season as our Superbowl halftime break. Where the big brands with the big budgets go head-to-head with their big-name directors, bigger name celebs and well, big ideas. 

But this year does feel different. Less spectacle, more story. Brands like Etsy and Lidl are focusing on micro-moments - smaller, more intimate stories with kindness at the heart.

But the north star of this trend is John Lewis who has doubled down on this with their story about the ex-raver Dad, who gives up the good times for the most amazing experience of all - being a father. 

It represents a marked shift away from overproduced, festive blockbusters and towards ideas that feel more authentic and personal. Cosy, even. 

In a world of Grinches, BFGs and Kevin the Carrots, it feels like to go big this year, you actually need to go small. 

So, get those big slippers on, turn the fire up and pour yourself a glass of your favourite Christmas novelty drink because this year it’s all about the simple, joyful, feeling inside.   

Like Johnny in The Shining, the latest smorgasbord of Christmas ads is here. So, is it a year where joyful simplicity is sitting atop the tree? Hmmm. 

If we mean simplicity in the sense of focusing on one inevitable pain point that Christmas 2025 brings with it – financial strain (ASDA), device addiction (LEGO), terminal holiday traffic jams (M&S Food), or a lack of true connection between generations (John Lewis) – then ho ho ho, job done. Joyful? Maybe ask all the dads pretending they’ve got something in their eye. 

Or do we mean joyful simplicity in terms of sticking to a formula? Brands are definitely recycling known commodities (the BFG, Kevin the Carrot, Dawn French) and tired old tropes (looking at you M&S…oh, I mean Burberry). But hats off to Amazon for recycling an entire ad - those grannies love a good sledging. 

Or maybe we mean simplicity by just getting AI to make the whole ad? Those Coca Cola trucks should watch out: they’re traveling down a treacherous road. 

The fact is, with so many brands telling me how to enjoy Christmas, it’s anything but simple. But I will say this - these are the hardest briefs around. So hats off to anyone who’s thrown theirs into the ring. And at least it means our industry is alive and kicking. And that can only bring us all a stocking full of joy. 

Making an ad is hard. It takes time, energy, talent and an unreasonable amount of luck. All of that pressure intensifies for a Christmas brief. Bigger budgets and higher expectations. Which is why critiquing the end product, after the fact and without any sense of what it took to get there, makes me feel uncomfortable.

The very fact these ads made it to air probably feels like a Christmas miracle to those who worked on them: the John Lewis creatives who managed to fend off the rest of the department; the Aardman animator nudging Gromit’s Barbour beanie at 2 am; the M&S location manager closing a motorway; the Asda lawyers negotiating Grinch rights; the JD teens appearing on TV for the first time; the producer ensuring Jennifer Saunders and Heung-Min Son had what they needed.

I’m sure these ads could have been better. The people behind the work will see their flaws more sharply than anyone. So let me simply say, with all the Christmas joy in the world: well done to all involved.

And now to Coca-Cola’s “Holidays are Coming” made by ‘real magic AI’. A piece of work claiming to have no one behind it. For me, the antithesis of simplicity and joy. They’ve done to this beloved institution what Wallace’s gift-o-matic did to wrapping presents: overcomplicated the bejeezus out of it for absolutely no benefit. I felt less Christmassy after watching it.

Every single ad this year would have used AI in some way to facilitate their desire to connect with an audience. Be that inventing new words for the BFG or testing how ‘Where Love Lives’ sounds at 61 bpm. AI is changing the way we all work. But let’s not excuse the gimmicky use of it.

AI is for life, not just for making your Christmas ad cheaper.

Christmas is rarely a moment of joyful simplicity, even in today’s climate where many people will be conscious of their spending. Christmas is renowned for abundance, treating, generosity, and indulgence. And many brands depict this through richly crafting their brand experiences to include traditional triggers that reinforce enjoyment and giving.

Coca-Cola, whilst avoiding obvious simplicity, it’s certainly high on joy. Putting aside the AI debate for a moment, this is a masterclass in how to leverage distinctive brand assets to enhance the feeling of joy. It begins with the iconic bottle, cap hiss and bright red label facing the viewer. From the first frame you are in the world of Coca-Cola. Then you are hit with the iconic red trucks, the famous jingle song, as they all work together to engage decades of memory structure and light up that sense of joy and excitement that the brand brings.