The dog’s just emerging nervously from behind the sofa and the smell of gunpowder still hangs over countless fields and gardens.
asserted
smell → emerge → fields
But here comes the full-on commercial glorification of Christ’s birth.
asserted
glorification → come → birth
As ever, its arrival is heralded by ‘the Christmas ads’.
asserted
arrival → herald → ads
As much a part of the traditional celebration as a variety box and a pig in a blanket, it’s the one time of year that you, the glorious British public, actually pay attention to the stuff we make in the advertising business.
asserted
we → ’ → business
The rest of the year you happily pay a premium to block us out…
asserted
you → pay → us
I guess that’s the Christmas spirit working, as you welcome us and our messages into your homes.
asserted
you → guess → homes
We’re going to have a look at some of them and see if it’s a vintage year.
asserted
it → go → them
I thought it would be interesting to understand what advertising people made of them but – more importantly – what real people think about them: are they on song or tone deaf?
asserted
they → think → song
And we should also bear in mind the context, because while it is indeed the season to be jolly, it’s also been one hell of a year, with sky-rocketing interest rates, the eye-watering cost of living and wars raging in Europe and the Middle East.
asserted
it → bear → Europe
Are we just hoping for a hand-crank radio and a multi-pack of baked beans in our stockings or do we still crave a little more?
asserted
we → hop → more
And again the craft here (including the soundtrack, casting and direction) is flawless.
asserted
craft → include → soundtrack
This year’s ad, which stars Kristin Scott Thomas and a shonky wooden dog called Pickles, scored 5.6 stars according to System1, a business that measures the effectiveness of ads.
uncertain
that → star → ads
They say it’s John Lewis’s strongest one since Excitable Edgar in 2019.
asserted
it → say → 2019
But there is an argument raging around it: a lot of other voices in the business point out that, while it’s good fun, it suffers from a lack of emotional engagement.
asserted
it → be → engagement
It’s supposed to say a personal gift beats cash, but it comes across as implying “spending money is the only way to win the kids’ affection”.
asserted
spending → suppose → affection
Piers Morgan called it “the worst advert I’ve ever seen for anything”.
asserted
I → call → anything
Sarah Vine dubbed the grandkids “spoiled, entitled, rude and overindulged.”
asserted
Vine → dub → grandkids
The Spectator branded it “lamentably bad”.
asserted
Spectator → brand → it
And it’s getting 77 per cent negative social sentiment from the public.
asserted
it → get → public
For me, if grandma tarted up a room to look like a disco for my Christmas present, I’d feel a little cheated… but maybe I’m just as entitled as the kids in the ad.
M&S Christmas advert 2026: Hot Santa takes the lead
asserted
Santa → tarte → lead
I must declare an interest here: my agency wrote the script that reunited French and Saunders a few years back.
asserted
that → declare → French
But times change…
asserted
times → change → ?
For the first time in a long time it rolls together food, fashion and home.
asserted
it → roll → food
It starts off stronger than the Christmas punch, with a PR shot of James Norton wearing only a towel.
asserted
Norton → start → towel
More About Advertising rated it nine out of 10, calling it “a Christmas classic.”
asserted
More → rat → it
It also backed merging the categories, because food continues to drive profits while fashion grabs headlines.
asserted
fashion → back → headlines
Creative Review called it “glitzy but funny”.
asserted
Review → call → it
Well, Vicky Pattison called it “the best advert I have ever seen” and Stacey Dooley said “Absolutely yes”.
asserted
Dooley → call → it
So hot Santa seems to be landing his sled in the right spot!
asserted
Santa → seem → spot
M&S looks like the early winner based on public mood.
asserted
M&S → look → mood
It has a “humour beats tears” formula and a celebrity that everyone wants to talk about.
asserted
everyone → have → that
The open question is still effectiveness: hot Santa is great for reach and talkability, but the real test is whether it translates to sales…
Tesco Christmas advert 2026:
asserted
it → translate → sales
The delivery drivers say breaks every rule
Tesco is the only other Christmas ad being talked about so far… and not for the right reasons.
asserted
Tesco → say → reasons
Lizzie (Anna Maxwell Martin) sends her Tesco Christmas order to her old address, hundreds of miles away.
asserted
Lizzie → send → miles
The driver turns out to be her long-lost school friend Polly (Roisin Conaty), and their road trip to deliver it ends with Polly joining the family for Christmas.
asserted
Polly → turn → Christmas
But The Grocer (the trade rag for supermarkets) reports that Tesco delivery drivers have called it out for doing “literally everything we are specifically forbidden from doing in one short clip”.
asserted
we → report → clip
Drivers have accused Tesco of “acting like this isn’t a sackable offence”.
asserted
acting → accuse → this
That’s a problem when believability is so important.
asserted
believability → ’ → ?
Although, for balance, they also voted it ahead of Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Asda and Lidl, with 35 per cent of the public calling it ‘an absolute cracker’…
asserted
cent → vote → it
Let’s wait for the new year follow-up, in which Polly’s up in front of HR, shall we?
asserted
we → let → HR
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
