Aldi’s ‘Amazing Christmas Show’ TV ad has seen off competition from the likes of Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Amazon, and Walkers to take the crown as this year’s most powerful festive advertising campaign.
Insights and consulting firm Kantar tested 19 ads with almost 3,000 consumers using its LinkNow ad testing service. This judges ads against seven factors that drive short-term sales and long-term growth: enjoyment, involvement (grabs attention), expressiveness (makes us feel emotion), branding, persuasive (makes us want to buy), meaningful (creates love) and different. Facial coding from Affectiva also captured how viewers engaged emotionally with each ad.
Aldi’s campaign, based around its popular Kevin the Carrot character, was rated highest overall across the seven ‘ingredients’ that make an ad effective. The ‘Amazing Christmas Show’ was described as being this year’s most ‘different’ and ‘emotional’ ad, and is among the top performers on ‘enjoyable’, ‘attention-grabbing’, and ability to create love for the brand.
Meanwhile, the eagerly anticipated John Lewis & Partners ad was found to be the most enjoyable of 2019. Viewers also felt the ‘Excitable Edgar’ ad celebrated the joy of Christmas more than any other spot. Aldi’s ad is the second most enjoyable, followed by Asda’s Let’s Make Christmas Extra Special and Very’s Get More out of Giving.
The ad that generates most love for the brand behind it is Walkers’ ‘Too Good To Share’, which combines a popular song, a glamorous celebrity and a dash of good humour. Kantar stated that it is very consistent for the brand, building on the original campaign featuring Gary Lineker. Aldi was rated second highest on ‘love’, with Amazon’s ‘Everybody Needs Somebody’ third.
In 2018 consumers responded most positively to ads that told realistic, simpler stories. This year has seen a swing back to those that focus on the magic of Christmas with many using music to awaken ‘Christmassy’ feelings and memories.
Lynne Deason, Kantar UK’s Head of Creative Excellence, commented: “To create advertising that really resonates with consumers, brands must understand what we’re thinking and feeling. Many are making a very deliberate effort to lift our spirits this year. They’re earning attention by taking us on a dramatic emotional journey, using entertaining, cinematic stories that bring a magical sparkle and – hopefully – leave us feeling good. This year, lost joy will mean lost sales.”
There is three-way tie between the ads that make us feel most emotional this year: Aldi, John Lewis & Partners and M&S’s ‘Go Jumpers for Christmas’ were all found to evoke very high levels of emotion. Kantar research shows Christmas ads that use stories generate far more enjoyment and emotion than those that don’t, making people pay attention to them and creating lasting memories. However, the firm highlighted that to be effective, the brand also needs to be at the centre of the ad, otherwise people struggle to remember who it is about.
The ad with the strongest branding this year is Tesco’s ‘Delivering Christmas’, which integrates the brand into the drama of the ad via the Tesco van. Consumers also found the ad highly enjoyable, and felt it celebrated the joy of Christmas. Tesco is closely followed by M&S Food’s ‘This is Not Just Food’, Walkers’ ad, then Amazon’s ad. “
For a Christmas campaign to work, the brand needs to be the hero,” said Deason.
“Most ads take viewers on an emotional journey, but some brands throw the ‘cues’ that they’ve built up over many years out of the window in favour of creativity. It’s vital that the story is clearly linked to Christmas, and gives a starring role to the brand and what it does.”
NAM Implications:
- However, stakeholder eyes will focus on bottom line results…
- Meanwhile, keep in mind that the ‘Ad most powerful’ is a limited range discounter…
