Which 2021 Christmas Marketing Campaigns Deserve a Festive Cheer?

2021 is finally coming to an end, and what a turbulent year it’s been. We’ve had plenty of highs and lows, but thankfully the Christmas period is here to spread some good cheer among us all.

This time of year, the marketing and advertising world is rightfully called upon to put its creative heads together and devise some eye-catching, festive content. This isn’t new of course; Christmas campaigns have been around for as long as marketing itself. But with so much competition for your eyeballs, it can be incredibly difficult to soar among the others.

Fortunately, for some brands, their creative departments have done an excellent job of captivating audiences over the holidays. So, join us as we roundup some of our favourite campaigns from this year and shine a light on the trends going into 2022.

Aldi – A Christmas Carrot

Everyone’s favourite animated vegetable Kevin the Carrot returns for another year in Aldi’s latest Christmas ad. Referencing Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and packed full of topical references, including the brand’s famous caterpillar cake debate and Marcus Rashford MBE, Aldi’s ad brings some much-needed tongue-in-cheek humour to our screens this year.

To supplement the campaign, Aldi announced a donation of 1.8 million meals to poverty-stricken families alongside Neighbourly, an award-winning donation company. Not only is this campaign entertaining, it is making a difference to those in need.

Amazon – Kindness, The Greatest Gift

Amazon chose to focus on the power of gift giving this year with its Christmas campaign. The television advert follows the story of post-lockdown anxiety as we see a young woman struggling to come to terms with ‘normal’ life following the pandemic. This is something we can all relate to given the continuous struggles we have faced in recent months.

The woman then strikes up a spontaneous friendship with her neighbour while feeding birds at their local park. After identifying the young woman’s anxiety, the neighbour gives her a small gift (from Amazon, of course) of her very own bird feeder.

This advert encapsulates the very essence of gift giving during the holidays, and is pulled off exceptionally well by many people’s first port of call for Christmas shopping.

Alongside this campaign, Amazon unveiled a Christmas Shop section on its website, providing customers with keen gift-giving ideas for friends and family. The brand also followed this activity up with a series of festive posts such as the ’12 Commutes of Christmas’ and the ‘Best Books of 2021’. All of which seek to tie Amazon in as synonymous with gift giving and are a great example of positive brand association.

Walkers & Comic Relief – It Feels Good to Share

This year, Walkers utilised wellness as a key theme in its latest Christmas campaign. In the TV advert, we’re taken onboard a man’s venture through a Christmas house party filled with both close and distant relatives. Struggling his way through the various crowds of people, the advert ends with two friends having a truthful catch-up in the kitchen.

The ad is mostly focused on mental wellbeing, with an emoji character depicting the true emotions of the man during his stay at the party.

This campaign was followed up on social media, wherein Walkers have partnered with Comic Relief to further spread the message of wellbeing with an Instagram filter. Each time it’s used, the brand will donate 10p to charities in the run up to Christmas.

So, What Have We Learned?

While we have selected these three campaigns to talk about explicitly, there are of course numerous others competing for audience attention. The John Lewis Christmas ads are usually firm and highly-anticipated favourites each December.

After reviewing a small number of what we think are some of the best Christmas campaigns, we have picked up on a few distinct themes:

COVID: While almost all of this year’s campaigns have included some sort of reference to COVID-19, what we see now is marketers and creative departments beginning to depart from the traditional pandemic narrative. Instead, it seems brands are trying to shift the focus back to themselves. This could be a sign of things to come in the following year.

Wellbeing: Wellbeing is a massively influential factor for modern advertising, and nowhere is this more present than in a heart-warming Christmas advert. Whether it’s tongue-in-cheek humour or highlighting mental health concerns, wellness is a theme that is sure to stay present in advertising for a very long time.

Storytelling: Much like any other strong marketing campaign, each of these brands are attempting to tell a tangible story this year. From a comical poke at socio-political developments to a glance back at the year behind us, there’s a story to be told in each campaign.

Need Help With Content Marketing?

Regardless, these campaigns share a common trait: they’re all great examples of creativity. If you need help planning an upcoming campaign or devising engaging marketing content, you may want to enlist the help of a creative content agency.

Get in touch with us today and see how our talented team of creative content marketers can help.