Ipsos Presents: The 12 Awards of Christmas
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Toys in every store. We know you’re all mulling over those last-minute holiday plans, but before we leave business behind for a well-earned break, let's reflect one final time on the great Christmas advertising we have seen this year.
What did we learn from the 2025 Christmas advertising campaigns? And, what are the keys to success when developing great Christmas advertising? At Ipsos we tracked the entire race to Christmas from the very beginning. Now it's time to find out which brands stood out this year and who won the race!
The Awards, Our Christmas List...
1. Memories to Last a Lifetime Cutting through the noise to be remembered
2. Marathon not a Sprint The best returning creative & characters
3. That Christmas Feeling Creating an emotional connection to the brand
4. Just For You Showing empathy & personal connection
5. All I want for Christmas is Food Best use of food in a Christmas advert
6. Food Innovation Product that won of our head-to-head tournament
7. The Gift of Giving The best Christmas gift in an ad
8. Fireside Chat Generating discussion this Christmas
9. Better Representation Diversity & Inclusion award
10. Driving Home (page) for Christmas Best campaign at driving online behaviours
11. MISFIT Mindset Award Stepping out of the sea of sameness with creativity
12. Overall Race Winner The campaign that brought it all together
Waitrose's 'The Perfect Gift' had a peak ad recognition score of
1. Memories to Last a Lifetime
Key to Success: Great advertising must cut through the noise especially given how busy the advertising landscape is at Christmas. Your campaign must be creative enough to be remembered and branded well enough to be linked back to your brand.
Winner: Waitrose
Building on the success of last year’s two-part murder mystery, the Waitrose team opted for a classic Christmas love story in 2025. We all know the British public enjoy a good romantic comedy. This one has captured the public imagination, and it doesn’t even star Hugh Grant. Instead, our everyday hero is Joe Wilkinson, fresh off a successful series of Celebrity Traitors, playing a widower who is told by his late wife he can only move on if he falls in love with Keira Knightly.
The perfect setting for such a meet cute? The Waitrose cheese counter of course! In the Ipsos asset testing tool, Creative SPARK, the ad showed strong potential to be remembered by the audience and that has been reflected in market with a peak recognition of 56% amongst the British public (joint highest with Aldi).
The ad is remembered not just because it is an entertaining celebrity filled story, but also because of the ads heart. At a time where people are looking for smaller more restrained Christmas celebrations to fit squeezed budgets it is the act of cooking a pie for someone, he loves that wins Keira’s heart. The right story at the right time.
2. Marathon not a Sprint
Key to Success: The tone and spirit of Christmas advertising is often different to the rest of the year. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t play the long game. The most memorable and beloved campaigns this year brought us back to some of the nation’s most iconic Christmas characters and stories.
Winner: Aldi
There was strong competition in this category this year, with a number of brands, including Sainsbury’s, Cadbury’s and Amazon, returning to previous creative vehicles and delivering powerful campaigns. But, in the end the underlying numbers don’t lie, and the power of Kevin the Carrot has pushed Aldi to the top for a second year in a row.
This year Kevin’s story was told in three parts – this could have left some elements of the story missed by the public but such is the interest in his ongoing adventures that all three ads showed recognition significantly above average (Teaser 38%, Stag Do 45%, Wedding 53%).
Crucially branded recognition, the % of people who not only remembered the ads but knew they were for Aldi was huge, peaking at 43% with the Stag Do Ad. That is the power of continuing to return to a winning creative formula year after year. Congratulations to Kevin on his (not?) wedding. We look forward to seeing what he gets up to in 2026.
Aldi's part 2 ad had a peak branded recognition score of
of those who recognised the John Lewis ad told us 'it gave them a good feeling about the brand'
3. That Christmas Feeling
Key to Success: There’s a magic in the air at Christmas time. A vibe, a tone. Let’s call it the Christmas spirit. By embracing and amplifying the feel-good factor in the holiday season brands can connect that feeling to themselves in the minds of customers, because wouldn’t you want to feel that way all year round?
Winner: John Lewis
The John Lewis Christmas ad always generates discussion. At this point it’s an institution at this time of the year. In our first week of tracking the Christmas advertising it was both Britain’s favourite (22%) and least favourite (9%) advert, because everyone was waiting for it and everyone wanted to give an opinion.
Ultimately what they have delivered has shown a strong emotional connection to the audience. 40% of those who recognised the ad told us it gave them a ‘good feeling about the brand’ (this peaked in the first week of release at 55%). The ad focuses on an everyday relationship and how gift giving at Christmas can bring people together. This year it showcased a father and son, last year it was two sisters.
Whether this personally connected to you may reflect whether the relationships you see on screen reflect those present in your own life. But, regardless of that personal dimension, the narrative certainly made us feel something and brough a tear to more than a few eyes. In a year when there was so much discussion around positive portrayals of men and boys in advertising this felt particularly appropriate. John Lewis continues to set a standard for emotional connection that other brands seek to follow at Christmas time.
4. Just For You
Key to Success: Empathy for your audience is crucial for ad engagement, amplifying both the ability to be remembered and its long-term impact on the brand. People want Christmas ads where the big idea reflects their day-to-day wants and needs. An execution that reflects the feeling that this creative has been made just for me.
Winner: Coca-Cola
This one might divide opinion, because if there’s one topic the marketing fraternity loves to talk about more than John Lewis at Christmas it’s AI generated advertising. How can an AI generated advert based on a 30+ year old concept be created just for me? How can it create an empathetic connection to the audience? The thing is… it has.
When we asked ad recognisers which ads were ‘for people like me’ the Coca-Cola 'Holidays are coming’ ad beat all the other ads that got high attention across a broad audience, peaking at 53% agreeing. The ad doesn’t focus on any human stories, Santa is the only human character even shown, the rest of the ad is animals enjoying a very human free winter wonderland. But this is still a good example that creating a personal connection with the audience isn’t just about reflecting the lives they have now.
of people who recognised the Coca-Cola 'Holidays are Coming' ad said it was 'for people like me'
Sometimes it's about tapping into the nostalgia they have for the past, and indeed even creating a Christmas environment they can aspire to.
'Holidays are Coming' has always delivered that. It ties the Coke brand intrinsically to the holidays, conjures images of snow-covered roads, sparkling Christmas lights and the magic at the heart of the festive season. It makes people feel something and they want to feel that way, that’s why the ads continue to work year after year. It doesn’t matter that it was made by AI, most people don’t even realise that. It's not the season yet without that big red Coca Cola truck. We choose to acknowledge that by giving them this award in 2025.
M&S ranked the highest for 'the food in the ad looks delicious', with a score of
5. All I want for Christmas is Food
Key to Success: If you’ve been to any family get together, you’ll know that food is at the very heart of bringing people together over the holidays. With changes to the rules this year on how food can be shown in advertising we saw brands getting creative to tell their food stories this Christmas. At their best these adverts still made the food desirable and undeniable, a central part of the Christmas story.
Winner: M&S Food
The array of food on display in this year’s holiday advertising was impressive considering that no one was allowed to show even a hint of a mince pie (before the watershed at least).
M&S Food has been linked to stunning food portrayals in advertising for many years so of all the retailers you would think the impact of the new regulations would hit them hardest. But, they were still able to deliver a funny, lively, uplifting Christmas story with food at its very heart this year. They achieved the highest score in our tracking for the ‘food looked delicious’ (53%). Not a fondue in sight.
By focusing on bite sized party food, they were still able to showcase their great product range in 2025. And yes, their ongoing partnership with all round national treasure Dawn French has certainly provided a winner again. Long may they consider showcasing desirable food that we all want to tuck into. Pork and Mushroom pate by Tom Kerridge anyone?
6. Food Innovation
Key to Success: While Christmas food is often focused on traditional fayre in ads, bringing people together at Christmas can also be a great time to try something new. Christmas advertising is often supported by more direct product focused ads. But, which products should the retailers be celebrating?
At Ipsos we are constantly keeping an eye on the latest food innovations. For the second year in a row, we had a tournament to determine the most desirable Christmas food innovation.
Winner: Waitrose – British Wagyu Beef Sirloin Joint with Beer Malt Glaze & a Herb Crumb
We’ve heard from the public more than once that they are looking for more restrained Christmas celebrations this year. Budgets are tight and celebrations are scaling back to reflect that.
But, that doesn’t mean they will compromise on the food they serve to their families.
For all the talk of gingerbread this year (go on social media, you’ll see it) luxury food items are still highly desirable. What better way to show people that you love them this Christmas? Joe Wilkinson would certainly agree. Perhaps then given the theme of their advert it’s appropriate that Waitrose have won this year’s Ipsos food Innovation DUEL. And, with Wagu Beef no less.
Have a look at it – you’ll understand. Special mentions to Aldi and Morrisons who made the top three with more affordable food innovations this year. Wherever you shop, there are some great new food items to try this Christmas.
of recognisers were able to link the Argos ad back to the brand
7. The Gift of Giving
Key to Success: Gift giving is a big part of the Christmas experience with many brands encouraging consumers to be considerate in the way they choose those all-important gifts. Christmas represents a natural moment in the calendar for brands to showcase what gifts they are offering and make consumers re-assess how they should interact with their brand.
Winner: Argos
Argos had a strong campaign in 2025 fronted by Inbetweener alumni Simon Bird who was reminded in no uncertain terms that Argos is not just for toys. This is simple but highly effective messaging designed to create a re-assessment of the brand at just the right moment.
The campaign built on the established marketing characters to help it cut through and achieved a very strong peak recognition of 44%, including a huge 71% of ad recognisers being able to link the advert back to the Argos brand.
The Ipsos Creative SPARK AI tool forecast a strong above average (124 Index vs Average 100 for a UK ad) impact on Behaviour Change. Because brand assessment is often just about choosing a simple message and landing it as effectively as possible. Argos have done that this year and elevated their stock as a gift destination this Christmas.
8. Fireside Chat
Key to Success: The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. Unique elements that can drive natural conversations about your campaign can help draw eyes to your brand. Strong consumer response to the ad, both positive and negative can help drive conversations, particularly if the ad reflects the current cultural moment. Ads and campaigns with strong ‘social power’ have more potential to drive short term sales impact.
Winner: McDonald's
McDonald's have generated a lot of social conversation this Christmas. Their share of voice based on online share of mention was 13% during the 3 month period between 17/09/2025 to 17/12/2025, predominantly fuelled by TikTok. The primary ad itself is not the reason but rather the way they have taken their core menu, so entrenched in the public consciousness and adapted it for the festive season. Green gherkin flavoured salt to put on your fries. Check. A free pair of Grinch themed McDonalds socks with your Big Mac meal. Check.
During the festive season, McDonald's had a total share of voice of
These are unique elements and surprise and delight the audience and generate conversation. Maybe you are like me and hate getting socks for Christmas? Good, you’ll be talking about that too.
The campaign represents a very innovative way to use a known IP like the Grinch to shine a spotlight on the brands core product range. And that will continue to have families talking when they come together this holiday season.
Etsy's ad achieved a score of
on the Gender Equality Index in Creative SPARK for the strong portrayal of the lead female teacher
9. Better Representation
Key to Success: Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) represents a hot topic for discussion in modern society with voices celebrating our progress in this area being contrasted by those bemoaning the pushing of a woke agenda. In our ad testing Ipsos measures D&I, looking not just at representation but also how that representation conforms to, or defies, cultural stereotypes. Ads that score highly on our D&I measure typically see a 56% increase in short-term sales impact potential vs ads that are low performing on D&I. D&I represents a good way to grow your business, regardless of what the negative voices might be saying.
Winner: Etsy
In 2025 Etsy showcased how their platform can be used to buy gifts for everyone in your life by highlighting the story of a young boy who struggled to fit in due to his compulsion to drum. A thoughtful pair of drumsticks from his teacher sends him on the road to redemption.
The ad embraces DEI as a tool to showcase the universal audience of the brand. In UK Creative SPARK testing the audience gave it a DEI Index score of 131 (vs typical UK ad score 100) and it also score 120 on the Gender Equality Index for the strong portrayal of the lead female teacher.
Crucially this was persuasive to audiences who gave the advert a 154 for long term Equity Effect and a huge 146 for Creative Effect (the ability of the ad to impact on short term sales). This advert is testament that inclusion in advertising can help grow your audience if you find the right story for your brand.
10. Driving Home (page) for Christmas
Key to Success: Ultimately the goal of most advertising campaigns is to drive changes in behaviour. Different brands will have different outcomes they want to promote but online engagement is a critical metric for most retail brands over the Christmas period. Making the desired behaviour clear in your narrative with a clear call to action can really help drive the outcomes you want.
Winner: Lidl
We all know that online retail traffic grows over the holiday season, as potential customers explore what’s on offer from their favourite brands. Ipsos Iris data has highlighted the success that Lidl have had in driving incremental web and app traffic over the festive season.
Lidl have put a lot of focus in their marketing on their online offerings, with ads throughout the year promoting their Lidl Plus App for rewards and showcasing many of the themed moments they use to promote their product ranges.
Coffee week, Italian week, wines from around the world. Christmas represents another one of those moments as loyal customers look to see what the product offering looks like this festive season.
Lidl's website saw a
increase in traffic in the week after their campaign went live vs the same day the week prior
In the week after the Lidl Christmas campaign went live Ipsos Iris data showed the Lidl website had a 93% increase in traffic vs the same day the week before. Coincidence? You decide.
What we do know is that the Lidl Christmas advert and the way it showed off the classic Christmas turkey had the second strongest association to ‘the food looked delicious’ (50%, only behind M&S). Nothing quite like a sexy food shot or two to get people browsing.
Lidl app traffic has grown throughout the festive season, peaking as we’ve moved into December. Just in time for people to see their festival food and drink offers, their pick of the week, their December wine tour. All vital information, in converting that interest into action.
of people recognised the Amazon ad, compared to a UK average recognition score of 27%
11. MISFIT Mindset Award
Key to Success: Christmas advertising comes with certain expectations. The focus on Christmas food leads to many ads that showcase the volume of delights on offer, the family around the table, the gifts under the tree. The MISFIT Mindset is about using creativity to break free of, or subvert, category expectations; to stand out from the sea of the sameness and create something memorably different. But also, a narrative that connects with the audience, empathetic human stories that connect back to the story of your brand.
Winner: Amazon
Amazon returns to a winning formula in 2025 by re-visiting their 2023 Christmas advert ‘Joy Ride’, in which a group of senior citizens re-visit the joy of their youth by going sledding once again.
Returning to a creative that was effective for them two years ago certainly helped the ad cut through with the British public (44% recognition vs a UK Christmas ad average 27% recognition). Its unique, heartfelt story helps it to be remembered while the emotion of the ad ties the joy the women are feeling back to the joy that an Amazon gift can unlock for you at Christmas time.
A unique, memorable, emotionally connecting story, grounded in empathy for real people and their experiences of the brand at its best. The Ipsos Misfits Mindset made real. An ad that evokes both Christmas past and Christmas present and we will no doubt return to its example in Christmases yet to come.
12. Overall Race Winner
As always, a hard decision to pick one brand that stood above the others this Christmas season. We’ve again seen a vast array of excellent marketing campaigns delivering entertainingly memorable, persuasive advertising. In the end we were looking for a campaign that was creatively strong, cut through well, felt persuade and embraced the Misfit Mindset. One that translated into a consumer desire for engagement with their brand.
Winner: Waitrose
The British people are fans of love. A great British love story between a faithful man and a glamorous celebrity stole the nation’s attention and imagination this year. 14% of Brits chose it as their favourite Christmas ad this year and it was the nation’s favourite ad for the last 3 weeks of the race. It wasn’t just the full 5-minute-long version of this story that engaged the audience either.
It has shown engagement across platforms – when we tested the 1-minute Instagram version of the ad in Creative SPARK it got Creative Effect score of 169 (vs average 100 for typical Instagram ad) suggesting it had strong potential to drive sales for the Waitrose brand.
Respondents spontaneous reactions described the ad as a funny, happy, lovely, cute story in the style of love actually. In the end this is not just a campaign that’s been seen but that has connected with the audience and made them re-consider engaging with the brand.
Combined with their victory in our food innovation DUEL, it is clear that Waitrose are having a fantastic moment this Christmas, so it feels only fitting to give them the race victory this year.
Thank you for reading our Race to Christmas coverage this year. From all of us here at Ipsos, Merry Christmas and we hope you get the holiday experience of a lifetime, just like Joe.
