3 of the Best Christmas Marketing Campaigns we Love

Is there a chill in there air or is it just us? Supermarket aisles are lined with tempting Cadbury Snowflakes, stores are unveiling their Christmas Shops, and we’re quickly shifting from the initial ‘Already?!’ to the excitable: ‘It’s Christmaaaaaaas!’

Here, we’ll unwrap our top creative festive campaigns, from heartwarming stories that tug at our heartstrings to the marketing masterpieces that create unforgettable moments and make even the Grinch-iest of us smile…

The Big Christmas Shop

First up, the supermarket showdown with enough festive banter and silliness to last us through Winter. In 2022, Sainsbury’s gave us a Bridgerton-esque Alison Hammond taking on a Countess role, rediscovering her love for the Christmas pud. M&S brought us French and Saunders, with a message centered on togetherness and giving back, underscored by everyone’s BELOVED Harry Styles.

After boldly claiming in 2020 that they “don’t need cutesy characters when carrots taste this good”, Lidl jumped on the cuddly-toy-bandwagon last year, with Lidl Bear, while Aldi delighted by featuring Kevin the Carrot in a playful rendition of ‘Home Alone’, and gave grown ups some cheeky chuckle moments.

Our supermarket super-marketing teams perfectly capture the true essence of Christmas – sharing, loving, caring, and kindness – through relatable characters, nostalgia, musical choices and emotional connection. They don’t just stay within the store walls or on the screens; they create viral waves, sparking widespread social media interaction and engagement.

John Lewis: The Man and The Megastore

‘Tis the season for a holiday mix-up starring the real John Lewis, a computer whizz from across the pond, who accidentally becomes a yuletide celeb thanks to the British retail giant, John Lewis & Partners. Imagine this: every year, Mr. actual John Lewis finds his Twitter flooded with tweets meant for the store; complaints about stock (not his forte), customer service (definitely not his job description), and even praises for mulled wine. In 2018, Twitter had a lightbulb moment and roped him into his own tongue-in-cheek Christmas ad!

Now, as we know, John Lewis (department store) never fails to provide British audiences with a yearly dose of heartwarming, reach-for-the-tissues tales.

2022’s ‘The Beginner’ shone a spotlight on kids in care, in partnership with Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland, the campaign brought attention to a very real challenge. Telling a story of kindness, determination and the importance of making a positive impact in a child’s life, they addressed a national conversation around fostering and the care system.

There was a full circle moment when John Lewis (the store, not the accidental celeb) gave John Lewis (the accidental celeb, not the store) the heads-up about 2022’s Christmas launch. John then revealed that four of his children were adopted, creating an even bigger socials discussion regarding adoption and fostering.
John Lewis & Partners responded with ‘Once again, we couldn’t be prouder to share a name with you.’

Spotify’s Christmas Campaign: Unwrapping A Year In Music!

Spotify Wrapped – our favourite end to the year! This annual campaign resonates with millions of users worldwide. It combines personalisation, pride, social sharing, community engagement, anticipation and thrill! Spotify Wrapped transforms your listening habits into an experience, a journey of your top songs, artists, and genres, showcasing the soundtrack of your year. 

Your Wrapped could be celebratory, heartbreaking, or hilarious. It brings back that electric feeling of when you discovered a new band and had their album on repeat, the excitement of a new single dropping, all while dishing out facts and stats about time spent lost in your musical wonderland. 

We all eagerly await Wrapped, excited for our metrics, ready to read far too much into our analysis, blast it across social media, and trigger a chain reaction of people unwrapping their musical year, too… Proud? Oh yeah. Unashamed? Absolutely. Both? Without a doubt!

It’s interactive, engaging, lively: a mosh pit and mash up all at once. Spotify Wrapped is a musical journey and experience that’s all about throwing the spotlight on our individual tastes, a testament to the power of music bringing people together.

Those clever minds at Spotify have spun their magic – Wrapped has graduated from a PR campaign; it’s now a festive tradition!

Christmas PR with Gala PR

Well that’s it, our favourite Christmas marketing campaigns from the last few years. We love them and it’s easy to see why they have had so much success with the public.

If you want to create an impact for your event or podcast over the Christmas months, get in touch with GALA and let us take control of your public relations.

Take a step in the right direction with GALA PR.