The UK's 25 most popular Christmas TV adverts of all time
Lauren Weymouth
06 December 2016
The most popular Christmas ads
From Coca-Cola’s classic festive jingle to almost every John Lewis ad ever made, we count down through the weepies and the parodies to find the UK's most popular Christmas ads of all time, based on YouTube views.
25. Vodafone 2015: Terry the Turkey
Vodafone’s 2015 advert, which took a surprising twist from the standard advert for a mobile network, showed the story of a family and their pet turkey, and his journey to the Christmas dinner table. The advert, which led with the slogan “get closer to the ones you love this Christmas”, has been watched almost 1.5 million times on YouTube.
24. Aldi 2016: Kevin the Carrot
Telling the story of a carrot who makes his own journey across a dinner table to meet Santa, Aldi’s Christmas ad might not have exceeded John Lewis standards yet, but it has still managed to attract 1.5 million views on YouTube in a matter of weeks.
23. Very 2013: Christmas Gifting
Featuring brand ambassador Fearne Cotton, online retailer Very’s 2013 advert ends with the slogan “don’t just do Christmas, do it in style” and has also had over 1.5 million views since first being aired three years ago.
22. Argos 2016: The Argos Christmas Yetis
The 2016 Argos Christmas advert, which promotes its ‘fast track’ same-day delivery option by showing furry yetis ice skating with a sackful of presents, has gained 1.8 million viewers on YouTube so far. This year’s festive ad has generated significantly more attention than its 2015 campaign, which was only watched a mere 234,000 times.
21. Three 2013: The Pony at Christmas
With views just short of two million, the Pony at Christmas advert for Three was a huge hit in 2013, when it showcased a dancing Shetland pony doing the moonwalk to Fleetwood Mac classic, Everywhere.
20. H&M 2016: Come Together
Although this video is on the lower end of this list – don’t underestimate it. This new Christmas ad by H&M, directed by Wes Anderson and starring Adrien Body, has quietly snuck onto the festive ad scene and generated a whopping two million views in just two days.
19. Very 2016: Get More out of Giving
Unlike its 2013 Christmas ad, Very’s 2016 campaign follows a story, telling the tale of a generous woman on her way home from work. Ending with the slogan: “Get more out of giving. Get more out of every day, with Very.co.uk”, the 2016 ad has generated 2.1 million views on YouTube – almost four times more than its 2015 ad, which was only watched 486,000 times.
18. Aldi 2015: Telescope
Poking fun at John Lewis’s 2015 ‘Man on the Moon’ advert, Aldi’s parody Telescope depicts an OAP sat on a bench on the moon, testing out two new telescopes, one from John Lewis and one from Aldi. Inevitably, he picks the (cheaper) Aldi telescope, which allows him to see a female companion heading towards him on an armchair. The video has been watched over 2.1 million times.
17. M&S 2015: Art of Christmas
Although it was one of the less popular high street Christmas campaigns in 2015, Marks and Spencer’s 2015 ‘The Art of Christmas’ ad still gained over 2.6 million views on YouTube for its upbeat representation of Christmas Day.
16. Waitrose 2016: Home for Christmas
Taking on some of the big high street names, Waitrose brought in a Scandi robin in an attempt to soar above the rest. The ad, which shows the incredible journey of the bird battling against weather, seas and predators to reach a warmer British climate, has been viewed over 2.8 million times.
15. Sky Movies 2015: Sky Movies Christmas ad
As you would expect, Sky Movie’s 2015 ad was set in the style of a Hollywood movie trailer, following the story of Rosie, who hates eating sprouts and gets help from some of her favourite movie characters to clear her plate in time for a family movie. The theatrical campaign has received almost three million YouTube views.
14. Baileys 2013: Nutcracker
This 2013 advert by one of Christmas’ best-loved alcohol brands, Baileys, was a huge success thanks to a re-imagined version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. It has notched up nearly three million visits to watch the two-minute long advert since it premiered in 2013.
13. M&S 2014: Magic and Sparkle
With just over 3.2 million views, this M&S advert, showing two fairies carrying out good deeds across the country at Christmas time, was a drastic improvement on its 2013 campaign, which featured Sparkle the dog and only managed to receive a total of 189,416 views on YouTube.
12. Heathrow 2016: Coming Home for Christmas
This heart-warming story of two elderly teddy bears travelling home for Christmas is Heathrow’s inaugural Christmas advert and has already been viewed by just under four million YouTube users, rivalling many of the regular high street contenders.
11. Coca-Cola 1995: Holidays Are Coming
Possibly the most famous Christmas advert of all time, ‘Holidays Are Coming’ is now synonymous with the start of the festive period. While there are hundreds of versions of this advert on YouTube, the video with the most views has racked up 5,445,184. We know these won't all have come from the UK but we couldn't leave this classic out.
10. John Lewis 2012: The Journey
Watched over 6.5 million times, ‘The Journey’ tells the story of a snowman who travels on an epic journey to find the perfect gift for his companion, Mrs. Snowman. The advert was quickly followed up by a children’s picture book and the advert’s soundtrack – a cover of The Power of Love by Gabrielle Aplin – shot to number one in the UK singles chart.
9. M&S 2016: Christmas with love from Mrs Claus
This year’s M&S Christmas ad follows the story of Mrs Claus, and her festive journey to help a young boy give his sister a special Christmas present. The ad has been a huge hit with fans, much more so than previous M&S ads, hitting YouTube views of over seven million and counting.
8. John Lewis 2011: The Long Wait
Famous for its use of The Smiths’ Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want, sung by Slow Moving Millie, this 2011 ad featured a little boy impatiently waiting for Christmas Day, not to open his own presents but to give presents to his parents (aaaahhhhh). With the strapline, “for gifts you can’t wait to give”, the ad has had over 7.8 million YouTube views.
7. Burberry 2016: The Tale of Thomas Burberry
Inspired by the discoveries of the designer brand’s founder, Thomas Burberry, this year’s festive ad features Sienna Miller, Lily James, Domhnall Gleeson and Dominic West. So far, the video has received almost 11.4 million YouTube views.
6. Sainsbury’s 2016: The Greatest Gift
Featuring vocals by James Corden, this year’s campaign shows the story of Dave, a hard-working dad, who realises the best gift he could give his family is his time. The ad has already had over 12 million views in a matter of weeks, despite having received criticism from Sainsbury’s staff who claim the ad is ‘hypocritical’ when so many employees are scheduled to work in the store for the duration of Christmas.
5. Sainsbury’s 2014: Christmas 1914
Made in partnership with the Royal British Legion, Sainsbury’s 2014 Christmas ad commemorated the events of Christmas Day in 1914 when, during World War One, guns fell silent and two armies joined together to share gifts and play football. The supermarket’s ad agency said the video, which has raked in over 18.6 million views on YouTube, delivered a profit of £24 for every £1 spent on the ad.
4. John Lewis 2016: Buster the Boxer
This year’s John Lewis Christmas ad, which tells the uplifting story of a young girl, her dog (Buster the boxer) and four wild animals, has already had over 19 million views on YouTube, despite only having been aired for less than one month. It reportedly cost £1 million to make.
3. John Lewis 2014: Monty’s Christmas Day
This festive success, which told the tale of a boy who can’t wait for Christmas so he can give his pet penguin the companion he has longed for, was a huge hit for John Lewis, despite its £7 million price tag. It's received over 27 million views on YouTube, and sales for a soft toy version of Monty soared.
2. John Lewis 2015: Man on the Moon
‘Man on the Moon’ might have cost John Lewis £1 million to make, but it’s certainly proved well worth it for the company. The story of a young girl who makes friends with an elderly man on the moon was watched almost 28 million times on YouTube – that’s not to mention the millions of TV viewers.
1. Sainsbury’s 2015: Mog’s Christmas Calamity
Last year, everybody fell in love with the return of children’s storybook favourite Mog, the clumsy cat that causes a Christmas calamity. So much so, the video has recorded almost 33 million plays on YouTube, which makes it the most successful Christmas ad for both Sainsbury’s and for a UK supermarket.
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