Ranking UK Supermarket Christmas TV Adverts
Each year the UK supermarkets fight for the top spot. The Sainsbury’s Christmas Advert seems to win again, and again. In line with MBM’s tradition of following the Supermarket Christmas TV advert from different brands across the UK, we bring you this year’s results.
This 2019, we are looking at supermarket advertisements not just for 2019 but also from the previous years to review previous winners and how local supermarket ads have stepped up their yearly advertisements for the holidays.
In the last decade, Christmas TV adverts have expanded their audience reach by becoming available on digital channels. Brands have stepped up their game, utilising social media platforms to reach their intended audience. For us, it gives us a better idea of which ones are most viewed and shared.
Here are Our Findings:
Sainsbury has continued to dominate supermarket adverts in the last five years, using familiar stories that move and win the hearts of its viewers.
Christmas Advert Winner 2014: Sainsbury’s 1914
Starting with “1914”, a nod to the Christmas Truce that occurred in December of 1914 where German and British soldiers laid down their arms for 48 hours. Both factions left their trenches, shook each other’s hands, shared supplies, and wished each other a Happy Christmas.
Sainsbury worked with the Royal British Legion to compile accounts of what happened. The Christmas ad by Sainsbury includes the iconic singing of “Silent Night” and the two armies once at war with one another sharing gifts to celebrate Christmas.
The “1914” by Sainsbury commemorates the extraordinary events of that night and also celebrates the country’s fighters by donating all the profits of the chocolate bar–the same one that is featured in the ad, to the Royal British legion for the benefit of the armed forces and their families.
Christmas Advert Winner 2015: Sainsbury’s Mog’s Christmas Calamity
The winning supermarket advert of 2018 is also from Sainsbury’s: The Mog Christmas Calamity. It features Mog, the family cat’s nightmare where a series of unfortunate events threaten the cat’s family, the Thomases’ Christmas.
The Christmas advert celebrates not the cat nor the fire that engulfed the Thomas residence on Christmas Eve, but how the community comes together to share what they have so the Thomas family and their Mog can have a good Christmas.
Christmas Advert Winner 2016: Sainsbury’s The Greatest Gift
In 2016, Sainsbury’s again takes home the top spot in the supermarket Christmas advert wars. Featuring a lively stop-frame animation brought to life by James Corden’s vocals. It explores the life of Dave, a hardworking dad, on the Christmas season. His worries and dreams and the balancing act he has to keep to make his family and bosses happy. In the end, he realises, the greatest give he can give is himself.
The Greatest Gift uses the hashtag #ChristmasIsForSharing, a theme that Sainsbury has utilised in previous years.
Christmas Advert Winner 2017: Sainsbury’s #EveryBitofChristmas
Sainsbury’s Christmas ad 2017 wins the most viewed and shared again. As the title suggests, Every bit of This is a compilation of kids, dads, mums, friends and families singing about what Christmas is for them. Whether it is fussing about the last bit of mince pie, eating chocolate for breakfast, quirky gifts, or ugly sweaters, celebrate it.
A collection of black and white clips with a splash of colour here and there. Sainsbury’s Christmas advert for 2017, resonates with the joys, stresses, and downright funny holiday moments that we all can relate to.
Christmas Advert Winner 2018: Waitrose’s #EltonJohnLewis
Waitrose’s Christmas advert of 2018 breaks Sainsbury’s streak. The Boy and the Piano also titled #EltonJohnLewis. It tells the story of Elton John’s career and how it all began because a young boy received a piano one Christmas day. That boy was Elton John himself.
John Lewis & Partners Waitrose showcases how a gift can influence, inspire, and change the course of a child’s life.
Christmas Advert Winner 2019: Sainsbury’s Nicholas the Sweep
This year’s winner is again Sainsbury’s, getting more than 6 million views as of writing. The Christmas advert is set 150 years ago in 1869, the same time Sainbury’s was born.
A young boy, Nicholas the Sweep, gets wrongfully accused of stealing oranges. The mob goes wild and begins throwing ridiculous accusations and banishes a small boy. He is rescued from the cold by Mrs. Sainsbury and given a bag of oranges. The boy shares the oranges, filling the socks of other children, taking on the familiar red suit we all recognise.
And that is it for this year! The Christmas adverts are always a delightful tradition we look forward to every year. The supermarket Christmas adverts share common themes such as nostalgia, inspiring stories and sharing the joy of the season with others. We hope you enjoyed that as much as we did and we are excited to see what they will bring to the table next year.
