It’s officially Christmas!

With the official release of the John Lewis Christmas advert, the festive season is upon us. In honour of this, we thought we’d give you a breakdown of our favourite Christmas adverts gracing our screens this year.

John Lewis

I mean, where to begin? A week late to the party, and the eager anticipation of the most famous advert of the year did not disappoint. With a lack of CGI, gimmicks or cartoons, this advert has made a statement.

The advert kept us guessing. What are the couple waiting for? Or who? And why is the man so eager to learn how to skateboard? It all comes together when the foster child arrives and the man has been desperately trying to find some common ground between himself and his new foster daughter, a real heart-warming moment!

With the highly relevant Blink-182 track in the background with the announcement of their new tour next year, this advert does meet the expectations that proceeded itself, as it does every year.

Asda

Buddy the Elf comes to Asda? Without context, this does sound like a strange crossover, but here we are.

Asda did come out swinging with their advert this year, bringing out the big guns, as this is the first time that “Buddy the Elf” has ever been licensed for brand marketing!

Using a process called rotoscoping, Buddy was taken out of the original film and placed into the newly filmed scenes in the advert. Asda enlisted the help of multi-award-winning director Danny Kleinman the proclaimed filmmaker behind the title sequences for several James Bond title sequences to direct their 2022 Christmas Ad!

The feel-good ad will undoubtedly get everyone in the Christmas spirit and the mood to get the Christmas films on the tv asap.

Aldi

With the first-ever winter World Cup kicking off on November 20th, we expected a football theme somewhere along the line, and Aldi’s old favourite Kevin the Carrot did not disappoint, being joined by a long list of football-themed food such as “Marrow-donna”, Ronaldi and personal favourite “Beth Swede”.

Not too Christmassy, but with the release of their real Christmas advert, the home-alone reference in the football ad became even more relevant! It’s just positive to see a brand running with the football theme despite the controversy surrounding the tournament. But as always, we can trust Kevin the Carrot to face real problems head-on. This light-hearted take was the perfect build-up to their real Christmas ad, but the nod toward the football was a real highlight for us!

The question is? Is it coming Ho-Ho-home? Or are the England team coming “Home Alone”?

Boots

Not normally the highlight of the Christmas advert season, but this year Boots have excelled with this savvy piece of marketing.

Utilising “It’s a Sin” famous face Lydia West and a pair of glasses, Boots highlight their offerings as the perfect Christmas presents, from instore prints to Dyson Air Wraps, the use of an upbeat soundtrack “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall and Oats, this ad gets us in the festive spirit, with the thought of Boots 3 for 2 presents.

After all, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a Lynx Gift Set and a bath bomb!

McDonald’s

We’ve all been there! The Christmas list gets a little bit out of hand, we’ve circled or cut out too many images from the Argos catalogue and there is too much to choose from!

McDonald’s takes this to the extreme with the young boy creating a Christmas list longer than Santa’s nice list!

The advert takes our childishness and exuberates it, all cumulating in the boy wishing for more family time with his family. This advert takes a simplistic trip to McDonald’s and highlights that it’s the small moments which mean the most with family, and as we head into December, especially after the few years we have had, I think we can all appreciate the time we have with our families this year!

To Summarise

The Christmas ads are always something to look forward to as the nights become darker and the weather turns colder. This year we have been treated to cinematic royalty gracing the shop floor, tear-jerking, thought-provoking insights into foster care and even a bit of 80s royalty Hall and Oats!

Which adverts caught your eye this year? Are you a fan of a tear-jerker like John Lewis or a comedy like Asda and Buddy? Did the 2022 ads live up to expectations or were you expecting more?