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Who’s in the run for the Christmas crown this festive ad season?

Shaun Austin Head of Media 25 November 2022

The season for festive advertising is upon us; from trips down memory lane to tearjerkers, we’ve seen an array of ads from some of the UK’s household names take to the screens.

Amongst some of the UK’s favourites are the ads we’ve seen from Asda, Aldi and John Lewis & Partners.

This year, Aldi welcomed back Kevin the Carrot, with an advert that paid homage to the 1990 fan-favourite, Home Alone.

Using BrandVue, our daily brand tracking tool, Shaun Austin – Head of Media at Savanta – analyses the performance of these brands, following the release of their Christmassy creatives.

The data confirms an increase in Advertising awareness for all three brands.

When comparing Advertising Awareness from the day before each release to now, on a fourteen-day average, we have seen an increase for all three brands. Asda has risen 4 percentage points, while John Lewis & Partners saw an uplift of 6%. Advertising Awareness for Aldi has risen by 7% and spiked at 50% on the 21st of November (a 9% increase from the day prior to its launch).

The campaigns have successfully reached the screens of consumers, but have they reached their hearts? And ultimately, will they impact purchasing decisions?

BrandVue data suggests they will. Amongst those aware of the advertising, another significant increase in both Preference and Consideration can be seen.

Within nine days of its Christmas ad launch, Asda saw a 7% increase in Preference amongst those who were aware of its advertising. Meanwhile, Preference for Aldi hit a high of 67% on the 17th of November, a 5% increase from the day prior to its Christmas ad launch.

A similar pattern emerges for John Lewis & Partners, who saw a 9% increase within only two days of its advert launching.

As for those who stated they would consider buying from these brands in the future, it looks promising for all three brands.

In less than two weeks after their Christmas ads launched, all three brands saw sizeable spikes in Consideration amongst those who were aware of their advertising.

On the 16th of November, Consideration for Asda peaked at 91%. The following day, Aldi reached an impressive 90%. Furthermore, within just over a week of launching, John Lewis & Partners saw an uplift in Consideration of over 10 percentage points – reaching 78% on the 19th of November.

So, why have these Christmassy creatives been a success?

In a year that has been saturated by news on the rising cost-of-living, it would be wise for brands to communicate their sensitivity to the financial struggles that many of their customers will be facing.

In what could be a statement in response to the crisis, certain brands this year have been less overt in encouraging consumers to buy from them, by diverting attention away from their product ranges and onto wider, more inclusive themes such as family and charity.

John Lewis & Partners is a prime example, creating an advert which is centred around a foster family and pledges to support its two partner charities – Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland. The ad omits any reference to product deals or new ranges and puts family at the heart of the creative.

Aldi’s campaign also focuses on family and highlights the importance of being together at Christmas.

But the supermarket chain conveyed this point using a different technique. This year, Aldi welcomed back Kevin the Carrot, with an advert that paid homage to the 1990 fan-favourite, Home Alone. Asda took a similar approach, capitalising on the popularity of the 2003 festive flick, Elf.

However, getting your much-anticipated festive ad right can be tricky, as we’ve seen in the case of Waitrose & Partners. The supermarket seemed to miss the mark with its latest advertisement featuring farmers comparing suntans; charity Melanoma UK said ‘Waitrose can do better than this’ and many consumers have taken to social media, commenting that the ad praises suntans and makes no effort to acknowledge the risks of UV.

Waitrose & Partners has since issued an apology, but it appears consumers are still angry and upset. Will the supermarket get it right next year? Only time will tell, and we’ll be watching with interest.

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In the meantime, do you want to discover how your brand’s advertising is performing in comparison to competitors this season?

BrandVue monitors the opinions of 1m+ consumers each year across more than 2,500 brands, acting as an invaluable tool to measure changes in KPI metrics against competitors and react in real time to develop strategic responses that mitigate any negative impacts on your brand.

To find out more or book a free demo, get in touch here.