Why 2025 is a vintage year for Christmas Marketing
You may have thought it, seen your family bopping along and wondered if this years Christmas advertising and marketing more broadly has been a cut above previous years. The Ipsos Race to Christmas data shows you would have been right.
Five ads in 2025 were recognised by over 50% of the British Public in our weekly ad tracking, which is five more than last year. The variety of tactics used by brands from creative repetition, subversion of category conventions, long form storytelling, scarcity creation and episodic delivery has been diverse. With the food driving less of the excitement in ads, the innovations needed to step up to the plate and the brand storytelling got that much better.
Ipsos have been monitoring marketing in the Golden quarter for several large advertisers – capturing a weekly picture of how festive marketing is being received by the British Public.
This includes ad tracking, social monitoring, passive measurement of web and app traffic, AI Ad testing of Christmas ads, rating festive food innovations, polling and qualitative analysis using our online community.
Here is what we have learned about marketing, media and the mood of the public over the Golden Quarter that has helped shaped the effectiveness of brand experiences in this time.
of Britons are setting themselves a strict budget on Christmas spending this year
1. We are feeling the pinch
Especially women, with 54% saying they have less money to spend on Christmas this year than last (compared to 38% of men).
The run up to the budget made us nervous, and the tension was slow to ease despite delays in key tax rises. We are slightly less excited about Christmas compared to 2024. 49% of Britons are setting themselves a strict budget on Christmas spending.
2. We don't like to be reminded of the pinch
Humour, festive favourites and joyful escapism is proving popular. There is a tension coming through for a campaign that explicitly talks about tightening of belts at Christmas.
While it is doing well on some key effectiveness measures, it is also being spontaneously recalled as the least favourite ad by 11% of the British public. Perhaps a little too on the nose for some.
are calling a particular ad that focuses on 'tightening the belt' this Christmas as their least favourite
3. We want value if we splash out
This is true of the food we buy to entertain and the things we gift our attention to. For example, we don’t just want beef, we want Wagyu.
Hot maple is the next gen hot honey and pistachio is in while crumpets are out. It's not enough for festive ads to remind us of the season, to be memorable we need them to keep the season’s codes fresh with a touch of the familiar.
4. Being a MISFIT works
The spontaneous favourite ad of the country in 2025 is Waitrose’s The Perfect Gift, starring Joe Wilkinson and Keira Knightly. In a year when consumers told us they're looking for more restrained, budget-conscious celebrations, Waitrose gave us a story where the grand romantic gesture isn't a diamond ring – it's cooking a pie for someone you love.
They used and subverted the traditional Christmas romcom trope while doing so. High empathy and brand fit + High creativity – A combination Ipsos have proven in the book Misfits, to drive the strongest effectiveness outcomes. The work stood its ground and won hearts and minds against long running campaigns and brand characters.
5. Cultural relevance pays off
John Lewis tapped into a charged national conversation around male inclusion and stereotype decoding for gender equality.
The ad does a beautiful job of spotlighting an empathetic male connection which sparked a conversation (and a little polarisation) with the brand - 28% of all social conversations around Christmas ads were about John Lewis.
That is some hard-won earned media. Ipsos data shows how progressive male portrayal drives up potential for larger sales lift and equity share gain by +37% and 38% respectively. We think John Lewis might be taking that to the bank.
of all social conversations around Christmas ads were about John Lewis
6. Culture plays can also be light-hearted
And this comes back to a golden principle – brand know thyself and know thy audience. McDonald’s had 13% of the share of social conversation, fuelled by TikTok-friendly buzz around its Grinch campaign and the hunt for limited-edition socks.
Even if there was a bit of a character battle going on with ASDA’s use of the same character, the clever use of scarcity helped boost its recognition and branding – something this brand plenty about from its annual Monopoly activations.
7. Fresh familiarity breeds creative effectiveness
The next chapters in stories from Aldi and Kevin the Carrot, M&S and Dawn French, Sainsbury’s and the BFG, Argos and Trevor had strong branded recognition.
Re-aired ads like Amazon’s 2023 'Joy Ride' also performed well showing that recycling isn’t just for wrapping paper. Sometimes Christmas magic is about revisiting the classics.
8. People noticed the food in ads is less exciting but didn’t really mind
Most of the 2025 Christmas adverts we have seen were produced with compliance with the Less Healthy Food regulations in mind. So, if you noticed, there are far fewer sweet treats, Christmas puddings and salty snacks in this year’s Christmas advertising.
In a recent Ipsos Fast Facts survey of UK adults aged 18-75, 25% claimed to have noticed a difference in how food is being shown in festive advertisements this year. The change in the way the food is displayed has certainly not affected the ads’ ability to be recognised by the public. In 2024 the supermarkets averaged an ad recognition of 33% and this has risen year on year to 38% in 2025.
That said, fewer people this year have felt the food in the ads look delicious and this can have consequences for the persuasive power of the ads. It therefore becomes even more important that the ads are landing the emotional benefit of the brand over the functional benefit.
of 18-75 year olds claimed to have noticed a difference in how the food is being shown in festive ads this year
Overall, the brands that pulled ahead in the Ipsos Race to Christmas weren't just fighting for attention – they were creating genuine emotional connections and using new and interesting ways to bring their messages to life. Whether that's through romantic comedies, nostalgic storytelling, or beloved characters, the lesson is clear. At Christmas, it's not just about being seen. It's about paying attention to how people are feeling, building on your big ideas and being remembered.
