Sleighing the Season: Top 10 Holiday Ads From Brands and Retailers

According to one abnormally large (but beloved) elf, the best way to spread holiday cheer is “singing loud for all to hear.”

This same adage can translate to brands’ holiday strategies. However, in the case of spreading cheer, building connections with consumers, and driving conversions, brands’ holiday ads — and other holiday content — have to do the singing.

To hit the right note, holiday ads need to capture the spirit of the season, not just focus on selling. Here are 10 examples of the top holiday ads from brands and retailers for inspiration.

5 Things the Top Holiday Ads Have in Common

No matter what you’re trying to sell this holiday season — or any time of year, for that matter — holiday ads are far less about the products or companies featured in them, and much more about the associated experience.

What can different shoppers expect when browsing or buying gifts from you? From finally giving these gifts to their loved ones?

The top holiday ads from brands and retailers are so effective because they convey some combination of the following focal points:

• Emotional connection: The best ads prioritize emotions — whether it’s nostalgia, joy, or generosity — creating an authentic connection with audiences makes all the difference.
• Storytelling over selling: Brands that use storytelling to create memorable, engaging narratives make products feel personal and more meaningful.
• Incorporating social causes: Brands that focus on inclusivity, sustainability, and charitable giving make their campaigns resonate with modern, values-driven consumers.
• Innovative use of media and technology: Brands that use digital creation, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), or interactive experiences can enhance the holiday shopping experience.
• Brand consistency and tone: Brands that maintain a consistent tone and message that aligns with their identity throughout the year lend themselves to meeting consumer expectations during the holidays.

1. Singing From (And For) the Heart With Amazon’s Holiday Ad

There seems to be nothing the global online marketplace, Amazon, can’t deliver — and that includes eye-welling emotions in their holiday ads for 2024.

While Amazon’s role in the ad is subliminal, its speedy delivery and product variety help set the stage.

Coworkers at a lavish theatre pull together to make an unlikely and underappreciated star out of one of their own, who ends up singing a heartful rendition of “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” to uproarious praise.

Surely the ad will contribute to even more record-breaking sales for the retailer this season: Ensure your Amazon holiday strategy is a winning one.

2. Finding Unique Gifts and Nostalgia With Etsy

Unlike Amazon, Etsy doesn’t offer the quickest picks or the most familiar brands, even as another global online marketplace. But that’s a good thing. Instead, you’ll find gifts that will help you say, “I get you,” for all of your recipients.

The ad follows the popular storybook character, Waldo, and illuminates his feelings of isolation by constantly being seen but not seen, a relatable emotion for many during sometimes difficult holiday months.

However, when he reunites with his girlfriend, Wenda, both the gesture — and the personalized gift she brings him — comfort both Waldo and the audience.
 

3. Capturing the Chaos and Calm of the Holidays With John Lewis

To say that the holidays are chaotic is perhaps the most massive understatement. The ad U.K. retailer John Lewis put together suggests that knowing where to look for a gift is practically the entire battle.

The ad follows a woman — who first climbs through a clothing rack — into a dizzying whirlwind of flashbacks and a tizzy of different settings as she anticipates finding and delivering the perfect gift to her sister.

In the end, the ad doesn’t even reveal what gift she decides upon, but within the warm embrace of her sister, suggests that the perfect gift for your loved one is all about where you found it, not what it is. This suggests that John Lewis can help you tap into what matters most: your relationships, and time shared.

4. Sharing Is Caring With Kroger’s Holiday Ad

The holidays are synonymous with food — homecooked favorites, easy “throw together” recipes, and other dishes that some look forward to the entire year. U.S. retailer Kroger drives this point home further in their holiday ads for 2024, highlighting that food is meant to be shared not just within households, but within communities.

“Share your food, share your heart,” is the ending tagline shown in the ad, after a young boy brings treats and the rest of his family members to spend time with a neighbor, helping assuage her feelings of loneliness from the holiday season.

5. Making Holiday Magic With Marks & Spencer (M&S) Food

The hearty themes of togetherness and food persist in the holiday ad from U.K. retailer M&S. A stressed Dawn French, British actress and comedian, stars in the ad alongside a digitally rendered doppelganger who helps her decorate her home and lay out a festive spread for neighbors (and “strangers”) in a jiff.

While M&S isn’t suggesting their products come with a fairy helper who can wave a magic wand and tackle all the heavy lifting that comes with entertaining, taking home their holiday offerings can get shoppers’ party planning hellishly close to complete.

6. A ‘Phizz-Whizzing’ Christmas With Sainsbury’s

U.K. retailer Sainsbury’s partners with Roald Dahl’s BFG to help shoppers go big for Christmas in their holiday ad. The magical giant helps a Sainsbury’s worker, Sophie, collect various items for a holiday feast before they decide to share the bounty with others.

This holiday ad decides to specifically focus on Christmas, which is a strategy your brand can replicate. If your brand decides to create separate ads specific to certain holidays, keep in mind traditions, supplies, and menu items that would resonate with different cultures and align with shopper insights. Failing to craft these messages thoughtfully could turn some shoppers away.

7. Delivering Pep and Cheer With The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company, an ever-popular global brand, generally uses emotion as the foundation of ads: Everyone already knows what they sell. Though its iconic polar bears make a brief appearance, the brand’s holiday ad this year focuses on brightly lit delivery trucks — one presumably driven by Santa — to spread cheer.

The company clearly labels its ad as AI — that is, generated with artificial intelligence. If your brand decides to do the same, or even creates holiday visuals and other assets with AI to share among your channels, practice transparency: It’s especially important in accordance with consumer trends expected in 2025.

8. The Proof Is in the (Missing) Pudding With Waitrose & Partners

U.K. supermarket Waitrose & Partners leverages celebrity faces (Matthew Macfadyen of “Succession” and Sian Clifford of “Fleabag,” to name two) in its ad that playfully pokes fun at the tensions often felt at holiday gatherings — further exacerbated by a missing pudding.

Tension — and suspense build — as the retailer doesn’t give the audience a resolution. Instead, it suggests more information will be revealed in “part two.” Many shoppers will look forward to seeing further ads and appreciate the retailer's more realistic approach to feelings associated with the holiday season, i.e., a lazing uncle who forgot presents.

9. Dazzling Product Features From Boots U.K.

Retailer Boots U.K. provides a perfect example of displaying a dazzling product selection without being too sales-y. Also leveraging celeb faces, the ad lets trending products such as light-therapy face masks, No.7 lipwear, fragrances, and more shine through.

After all, personal care and beauty products make some of the top gifts — Boots U.K. helps show us why more than half of shoppers plan to buy them this year.

10. Sitting With Your People (And Publix) This Holiday

For kids and parents alike, everyone can relate to wanting a seat at the sought-after “grownups’ table” at some point or another. Often applauded for heartwarming holiday ads, Publix wins again this Thanksgiving — but offers a dose of reality.

After wanting to sit at the grownups’ table, a young boy realizes the adult talk of home renovations and history isn’t as entertaining as he expected. Instead, his dad invites him to “look after the little ones” at the kids’ table, and he happily obliges.

Holiday Ads Equal Cheer, Connections, and Conversions

When done right, your brand’s holiday ad won’t just drive sales during the holiday season. Instead, it can help establish your organization as a standby to help shoppers create special moments throughout the year, not just “the most wonderful time.” And isn’t brand loyalty the greatest gift of all?