Christmas adverts made for the 2023 festive season have been ranked from best to worst as retailers flex their creative muscles for another year running.
Dozens of landmark UK companies have aimed to create the most iconic TV spot of the year, among them usual suspects M&S, Aldi, Waitrose, John Lewis and Lidl.
As British audiences consider the latest offerings from a consumer perspective, industry experts have come together to offer their professional insights.
The Grocer enlisted a panel of six insiders, who have rated and ranked nearly 20 adverts from major firms hoping to capitalise on Christmas this year.
The experts have assigned them scores and arrived at some surprising conclusions.
The Grocer’s experts included six people, each of whom gave 17 adverts a total score out of five.
The judging panel was comprised of:
Jemima Bird – CEO and founder and founder of brand marketing agency Hello Finch
Neil Godber – executive strategy director at marketing consultancy Wunderman Thompson
Nick Woods – strategy & creative director of PR and communications agency Sunny Side Up
Rob Sellers – founder of Rob Sellers Consulting
Rob Metcalfe – chairman of Richmond & Towers, a public relations firm
Sue Higgs – executive creative director of marketing agency Dentsu Creative UK
With each judge being asked to score the adverts out of five, each one received a total rating out of 30.
The best among them, they concurred, was a company that traditionally doesn’t dominate the festive season like M&S or Waitrose.
The panel chose a newcomer not known for its food or Christmas mascots, with Boots taking the top spot.
The firm’s cosy Santa-focused advert pleasantly surprised the judges, who gave it 21 of 30 points, with the remaining adverts receiving between as high as 19 and as low as just eight.
The full ranking is as follows:
- Boots (Who gives presents to Santa?): 21 points
- Asda (Make this Christmas Incredibublé): 19 points
- John Lewis (Snapper: The Perfect Tree): 19 points
- Amazon (Joy Ride): 18 points
- Aldi (Kevin the Carrot): 18 points
- Morrisons (Nothing’s Gonna Stop Oven Gloves Now): 18 points
- Coca-Cola (Everyone is Santa): 17 points
- McDonald’s (Fancy a McDonald’s this Christmas?): 16 points
- Argos (Trevor the T-Rex): 15 points
- Sainsbury’s (Santa’s Christmas Dinner): 15 points
- Duracell (Bunny Saves Christmas): 14 points
- Waitrose (It’s Time for the Good Stuff): 13 points
- Deliveroo (Anything Goes at Christmas): 12 points
- M&S (star-studded Christmas): 12 points
- M&S Food (Dawn French Christmas fairy): 12 points
- Lidl (The Christmas Raccoon): 10 points
- Walkers (Walkers Crisps are Made for Sharing): eight points
