To round off our 12 days of Christmas series, we thought we'd have a little fun by rounding off our 12 best Christmas ads of all time.
12 - kevin the carrot
Coming in at number 12 is Aldi's Kevin The Carrot. This year Aldi have treated us to a fourth instalment of the adventures of their playful Kevin the Carrot character who battles with the 'Leafy Blinder' gang of sprouts in a battle to put on the greatest show of Christmas. Picking a favourite from Aldi's Kevin the Carrot series was challenging but we think, as in many cases, you can't beat the original which first graced our screens in 2016.
11 - the bear and the hare
Coming in at number eleven we've gone with a John Lewis classic, The Bear and the Hare. The charming Disney styled animation was supported by a rendition of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' performed by Lily Allen and was a huge hit. Off the back of the initial 2-minute advert came a hardback children's book, Bear and Hare toys, onesies and even a Bare and Hare Christmas card maker.
10 - mrs. claus
Why should it be that every year, Santa gets all the glory? This seems to be the line of thought for M&S when brainstorming their 2016 Christmas ad. And so, M&S proceeded to set fire to the generally distasteful notion of Mrs Claus being a rosy-cheeked, plump elderly woman immersed in the role of Santa's housewife and instead created something altogether more stylish.
It's a heartwarming, atypical Christmas tale pulled off with aplomb.
9 - the book of dreams
Coming in at number nine is something a tad more recent, Argos's 2019 ad entitled, The Book of Dreams. It's the first time Argos have placed the iconic catalogue front and centre of their festive campaigns in a decade.
In the ad, we see a father browsing through the Argos catalogue where he sees his daughter has circled a drum kit. The ad knowingly plays on the fact that over the years, many of us will have browsed Argos's Book of Dreams circling the things we would love for Christmas, it's almost a tradition and envokes a huge sense of nostalgia. The scenes that follow the father seeing the circled drum kit are extremely fun and makes for an endearing ad for viewers.
This year, Argos has also thoughtfully supplemented their Christmas Ad with a digital repository of every single Christmas catalogue, stretching back 45 years. A true delight.
8 - mog's Christmas calamity
Come Christmas 2015, supermarket Sainsbury's took inspiration from Judith Kerr's popular children's series, Mog the forgetful cat when creating 'Mog's Calamity Christmas'.
The advert was created in partnership with Kerr in aid of the 'Save The Children Charity' and was extremely well received with the three-minute ad currently holding 40 million views on Youtube.
7 - say hello to rang-tan
Sadly, due to BCAP Code on political advertising, Iceland's Say Hello to Rang-tan Christmas ad never saw the light of day on the TV. While not strictly Christmas themed, it is poignant in its depiction of the impact Palm-oil infused products are having on the world around us.
Despite its television ban, Iceland went ahead with promoting the ad online where it has since racked up over 30 million views.
6 - because she's special
Boots take the number six spot for their touching 2014 campaign 'Because She's Special''. The ad is set in the early hours of Boxing Day as a family come together from far and wide and wait up in celebration of Mum, who's just finished her Christmas Day shift working as a nurse for the NHS.
The ad resonated with many families who have experienced similar situations over the festive season and was widely shared over social media with the accompanying hashtag #SpecialBecause.
5 - misunderstood
Tech giant Apple takes our number 5 spot with a hugely sentimental and endearing ad from 2014. The ad centres around a situation many of us can relate to, that teenager who just can't tear themselves away from their phone.
Except in this ad, the teen in question is actually capturing photos and videos to put together into a short family Christmas movie which he shares with his loved ones on Christmas morning, creating something nostalgic and sentimental that the whole family can look back on and enjoy for years to come. Apple's ad was so widely applauded it won an Emmy for 'Most Outstanding Commercial Of The Year'.
4 - magic and sparkle
Taking the number four spot is Marks and Spencer for one of their Magic and Sparkle ads. Though the Magic and Sparkle tagline has been revived in various Christmas ads over the years, this ad from 2013 is by far our favourite.
The quirky, enjoyable ad draws inspiration from a host of well-loved fairy-tales, including Alice in Wonderland, Red Riding Hood and The Wizard of Oz coming together and featuring celebrities such as Rosie-Huntington Whitely and David Gandy for an ad befitting its #MagicAndSparkle strapline.
3 - 1914
Sainsbury's take third place in our list of the greatest Christmas ads ever for the masterpiece that is '1914'. The three and a half minute long ad tells the story of the widespread Christmas truce which took place on the Western Front in December 1914.
While some took offence to Sainsbury's creating an ad centred around a sombre part of our history perhaps they don't understand the context surrounding it which commemorated 100 years since the start of the First World War. Sainsbury's have a partnership with the Royal British Legion which is now 25 years strong and the supermarket donated large swathes of money to the organisation in the wake of the ad's premiere.
'1914' has currently amassed over 21 million views on Youtube and is undisputedly one of the greatest Christmas ads of all time with support for a great cause at its heart.
2 - man on the moon
John Lewis' emotive 'Man On The Moon' is the runner up for our list of the greatest Christmas ads of all time. The £1 million ad was created in partnership with Age UK to raise awareness around the extremely topical subject of loneliness. In association with the Man on the Moon ad, John Lewis donated proceeds from a host of in-store and online products to go towards Age UK.
The ad proved a huge success for John Lewis with 22 million views within its first week of its premiere, and while some have berated the ad for being 'too sad', we say that these people need to grow a heart and appreciate the great cause this ad is made in the name of, in our view, 'Man on the Moon' is one of the greatest of all time.
1 - holidays are coming
Coca-Cola is the King of Christmas, as such, it should come as no real surprise to see this iconic piece of work take the crown for our top Christmas ads of all time. This historic as has been running annually since 1993 and to still retain its charm and appeal after all that time is a phenomenal achievement by Coca-Cola.
If the sight of Coca-Colas's Christmas trucks and accompanying jingle lighting up your TV is what it takes to get you in the festive spirit, you wouldn't be alone. The annual campaign was in fact recently voted as the UK's favourite ad of all time, taking 32% of the public votes in research conducted by London-based advertising agency Impero in 2018.
