UK retailers feed off public affection for festive ads

LONDON: They come with big budgets, are wrapped in sentimentality and boost company revenues – Britain’s latest instalment of eagerly awaited Christmas television advertisements has a nation tuned in.

Known for talking about the weather 12 months a year, Britons will begin sharing thoughts on the latest festive commercials as soon as they hit screens, usually once the Halloween pumpkins are discarded.

“It’s the time of year when media budgets swell, and creative teams pull out all the stops to deliver memorable messaging that resonates,” noted James McDonald, director of data, intelligence & forecasting at marketing strategists WARC.

Companies are to spend a record £10.5 billion (US$13.3 billion) on mostly online UK promotion of products during the present Christmas season, according to data from WARC and the Advertising Association, a British trade body.

“Brands know that a well-crafted Christmas campaign can boost salience, anchor loyalty and drive impressive sales results,” McDonald added.

Gingerbread and carrots

The latest Christmas TV ad from supermarket giant Tesco transforms people, animals and buildings into gingerbread as Britain’s biggest retailer conveys messages of nostalgia, family grief and festive joy.

Tesco, which this year is donating a proportion of its sales from gingerbread items to food charities, posted record sales for its key Christmas trading period last year.

Data showed that this was owing also to high inflation keeping prices elevated for consumers.

In the 19 weeks to early January 2024, comprising Tesco’s third quarter and Christmas trading period, UK sales jumped 8.1% to £16.8 billion compared with one year earlier.

“Ascertaining the return on investment of a particular campaign is a really complicated and complex task,” Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics research group, told AFP.

What is clear is how companies can increasingly “leverage the value of that advert across multiple different platforms, not just TV.

“It’s fair to say that they do spend millions of pounds on these types of flagship advertising campaigns,” Lim added.

Aldi’s latest festive television commercial once more features an animated carrot named Kevin – a character that has helped to grow profits at the German discounter’s British stores.

At the same time, the German supermarket and rival Lidl have benefitted from a recent cost-of-living crisis.

According to data insights group Kantar, more than half of 1,250 UK adults it surveyed in October said they looked forward to seeing this year’s ads by some of the biggest retailers in Britain, including the likes of Amazon and Marks & Spencer.

Awaiting the latest offerings, 59% of respondents said they “love” the festive promotions, up from 51% in 2023.

One-third said the ads made them laugh.

“We saw record numbers of people this year saying they wish advertising throughout the year was as good as at Christmas,” said Lynne Deason, head of creative excellence at Kantar.

One of the most eagerly awaited UK Christmas ads is from department store chain John Lewis, with consumers buying into its “emotive storytelling”, according to Deason.

“TV is still king of the Christmas ad channels… across all age groups,” she added.

Artificial intelligence

Media reports suggest that John Lewis’ budget to produce and display its latest celebratory production – featuring a last-minute gift purchase for a sibling – is as much as £7 million, a similar amount compared with recent years.

“We carefully consider any marketing spend to get the very best return on our investment,” a John Lewis spokesman told AFP, without being drawn on precise costs which this time around include using the song “Sonnet” by British artist Richard Ashcroft.

Not everyone is enamoured by the Christmas ad season, or at least the timing of its launch.

According to Kantar, two-thirds of people it surveyed agreed they “appear too early”.

Coca-Cola has meanwhile faced widespread backlash from customers and artists after its latest globally broadcast “Holidays are Coming” ad features its iconic trucks and Santa created by artificial intelligence.