Contribute to our inspiring community.
Won an award? Started a new partnership? Launched a creative campaign or simply have a thought, idea or opinion to share?
We want to read it!
Submit Your Content2025 Christmas Campaign Roundup
Our pick of festive works that combined emotion, culture, and marketing brilliance
11 DECEMBER 2025
We made it! Another year of KPIs chased, deadlines dodged, pitches won (and a few we’re still quietly recovering from). The holiday ads have landed, the awards chatter has begun, and it’s finally that moment where I can take a breath and look back at the work that genuinely cut through the tinsel.
Putting this list together is one of my favourite end-of-year rituals. There’s still a spark of joy when a campaign lands with craft, strategy, and cultural flair. And Kantar’s Best Christmas Ads 2025 Report reminded me that emotion still moves the needle: ads that scored highest for emotional impact saw an average sales lift of 0.6 percentage points. This proof that connecting with people’s feelings really works.
What stood out this year was the breadth of thinking: big-hearted storytelling, cultural sharpness, bold brand reframing, smart retail media, and earned creativity that proves budget isn’t the only lever. These are the campaigns I loved and the ones I think will inspire 2026.
Cadbury - Secret Santa
Consistency is a superpower, and Cadbury wields it brilliantly with VCCP London behind the creative. Secret Santa has become a Christmas ritual people genuinely look forward to, and this year’s iteration elevated it with digital vans in the media mix, keeping the campaign fresh while maintaining the heart of the tradition.
According to Kantar, it achieved Top 3% Impact and continues to weave the brand seamlessly into Christmas culture—a textbook example of how sticking to a successful creative idea can drive both cultural relevance and commercial effectiveness.
Greggs – Nigella Meets Greggs
Greggs’ Christmas campaign this year, Nigella Meets Gregge, created by Drummond Central, who turned the brand’s first-ever festive ad into a culturally charged moment that stopped the nation in its tracks. By casting culinary icon Nigella Lawson to glamorously describe a Festive Bake, the campaign generated instant buzz and landed in Kantar’s top 3% for making consumers feel “positively surprised.”
A clever, funny idea like this shows that strategic creativity can outshine sheer spend and demonstrates the power of earned media done brilliantly.
Aldi – Kevin the Carrot: The Wedding Series
McCann Manchester has turned Aldi’s Kevin into a seasonal institution. This year’s three-part rom-com spoof of Love Actually kept the story alive across multiple platforms, ITV, Magic Radio, TikTok, turning a single campaign into a festive event that generated continuous social conversation.
BrandDynamics data shows consistent creative campaigns like Aldi’s drive strong Advertising Awareness, proving that repetition combined with playful storytelling keeps both consumers and the brand engaged.
Airbnb – Gift A Night
Airbnb, collaborating with their internal creative team and production partners, brought purpose and product together beautifully. By highlighting the real-world impact of Airbnb.org donations and matching pledges, the campaign turned a brand message into tangible holiday giving.
This kind of emotionally resonant, purpose-driven creative aligns perfectly with Kantar’s insights: inclusive and socially conscious advertising delivers +16% long-term sales and +15% consumer loyalty.
Chelsea FC – The Magic of Blue
Chelsea FC, with their creative partners, Till Dawn and ICONIC for this campaign, tackled the epidemic of loneliness affecting 700,000 Londoners. The club’s Chelsea Foundation became the story’s hero, reframing the team as a source of community and belonging rather than just football excitement.
Culturally progressive and socially impactful campaigns like this are exactly the type Kantar notes as driving growth: brands with high cultural vibrancy grow 6x faster.
Burberry – ‘Twas The Knight Before…
Burberry’s cinematic festive spot, directed by John Madden, brought heritage and high-fashion storytelling together. With an all-star cast including Naomi Campbell and Son Heung-min, the campaign merged British heritage with playful modernity.
This work demonstrates how brand-centric storytelling, executed at cinema-quality—reinforces luxury positioning while staying emotionally engaging.
O2 – Give Time
O2, with VCCP UK driving creative, focused on a simple insight: 40% of people prefer experiences over physical gifts, especially among younger audiences. The campaign reframed Priority rewards as the gift of shared time, turning a telecom brand into an enabler of human connection.
This aligns with Kantar’s 2026 trend predictions: culture, creator-led storytelling, and micro-communities are where marketers should be focusing their efforts.
Fisher-Price – Festive Magic Wrapped
HUB partnered with Fisher‑Price to make retail media and in-store storytelling the heart of the campaign, bringing the festive narrative directly to shoppers at the point of purchase. From playful point-of-sale displays to targeted retail media placements, the campaign turned stores into immersive festive spaces that guided and delighted consumers.
It’s a clever example of integrated strategy, combining creative, shopper insight, and media execution to drive both emotional connection and commercial results, showing that impactful campaigns don’t always need a cinematic hero.
Apple – A Critter Carol
Apple, working with long-time creative partners TBWA\Media Arts Lab, turned the iPhone 17 Pro into a storyteller. Shot entirely on-device, the woodland puppets highlighted advanced zoom and dual capture features while feeling completely natural.
This demonstrates Kantar’s insight on culture and creator-led campaigns: ads leveraging creator credibility sit in the top 29% for trust, and Apple tapped that cultural currency perfectly.
Barbour x Wallace & Gromit
Barbour collaborated with Aardman Animations to bring nostalgia, heritage, humour, and charity together. Limited-edition products and proceeds going to Oxfam created a meaningful mix of emotional connection and purpose.
It also embodies Kantar’s Treatonomics trend: small, joyful purchases that carry disproportionate emotional value. A charming, commercially smart finish to the season.
So that’s our festive roundup for 2025—a mix of clever ideas, surprising moments, and campaigns that genuinely made people stop, smile, or feel something this holiday season.
We’d love to hear your take: which campaigns inspired you, which ones sparked ideas, and what trends do you think will shape 2026? At Brands & Agencies, exchanging ideas and learning from each other is in our DNA. Join the conversation, share your thoughts, and let’s inspire one another.
From all of us here, warmest wishes for the holidays and a joyful, creative start to the new year! 🎄✨
