Tis’ the season to stand out: Why recognition, not likeability, will define the best Christmas ads

Opinion

In a crowded Christmas ad market, more brands are realising that being remembered for creative storytelling is the prerequisite for being loved, says the UK MD of Happydemics.

Holiday ads are here, and with them come heaps of joy, comedy and festive cheer – thanks to the record £12bn in Christmas advertising spent this year.

But with ad budgets being squeezed and scrutinised, that money needs to go further than just creating some brand awareness and a nice, fuzzy feeling in people. Brands and advertisers are looking to get much more bang for their buck this Christmas. 

With some ads winning hearts and others simply winning attention, this year’s Christmas crop is revealing a surprising truth about what really cuts through the seasonal noise.

So between the cartoon carrots, celebrity cameos and clichés, a central question remains: is it better to be loved or recognised? 

Recognition vs. resonance 

When it comes to ad effectiveness, attention isn’t the same as affection.

Attention relies on attribution, interest and ad recall – KPIs that show the ad and the brand have been memorised and that it raised sufficient interest from the viewer. But likeability and perception are KPIs that have a greater impact on purchase, as they correlate more with purchase intent than attention does.

For example, Ipsos data shows brand recognition for Christmas ads has exploded across the board. Sainsbury’s BFG has surged from 33% to 50% in a week, Aldi’s ‘pear-shaped stag do’ sits at 47%, and Asda’s Grinch-inspired ad holds at 45%. 

But the ads people love tell a different story.  John Lewis again tops the nation’s favourites. Burberry’s film, recognised by just 10% and correctly linked by only 1%, ranks first for empathy, with 59% saying it felt “made for people like me.” Lego and Coca-Cola also shine on warmth, even if fewer people spot them instantly. 

This year’s biggest hitters are leaning on shortcuts to memory: characters, mascots and brand assets that slice through the clutter. The BFG. Kevin the Carrot. The Grinch. These move beyond simple creative choices; they’ve become recall engines. 

Recall is the first signal that advertising is shifting perception. Emotion, favourability and even intent have nowhere to land if people can’t remember or attribute an ad. And with recall down roughly 5 points since 2022, distinctive assets aren’t just helping brands stand out – they’re protecting the KPIs that show whether a campaign worked. 

This is why some of the most “loved” ads don’t always translate into brand power. High empathy without high recall rarely generates a consistent lift. Affection without attribution doesn’t travel far, especially in a season where audiences are drowning in festive impressions. 

But it’s all about the different elements involved. For example, the ads with the best attribution are those featuring celebrities, rather than those with a heartwarming tone.

To impact brand image, it’s necessary to create a link with a creative and imaginative tone. To create uplift on consideration for the brand, it works best to use a bold tone in the creative, while pushing purchase intent means using an authentic tone with a lot of information.

So two truths can co-exist: the ads we love aren’t always the ones that move awareness or intent, and the ads we recognise fastest aren’t always the warmest. 

In a crowded Christmas, more brands are realising that being remembered is the prerequisite for being loved. Distinctive cues don’t just get an ad noticed; they fuel the recall and recognition at the heart of brand lift.

Making an ad, checking it twice

If recognition is the currency of Christmas, storytelling is still one of the most reliable ways to earn it. But not all stories resonate equally. This year shows how differently audiences respond when narrative is paired with distinctive brand cues. 

Let’s take Waitrose as an example. Its four-minute rom-com, featuring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson, has already hit 42% recognition.

System1 ranks it the second most emotionally effective ad of the season, proving that big, warm storytelling still delivers when it has clarity and a strong sense of place. 

We know that celebrities in adverts can drive some of the best recall amongst all other creative tones, and Waitrose’s ad demonstrates that. Still, when it comes to this year’s famous faces, it’s notable that Kevin the Carrot remains the MVP of festive fame, helping push Aldi to 47% recognition and the week’s highest branded recall at 32% – an 11-point jump. That kind of movement only comes from distinctive, consistent brand assets, with the team creating a strong cross-channel campaign. 

This mirrors what we see during the rest of the year. Distinctive assets don’t just help audiences spot a brand; they reduce attribution errors, deepen recognition, and turn emotional response into actual familiarity.

The result is a festive landscape where three creative approaches are winning for different reasons: storytelling that makes us feel, characters and assets that help us remember, and category-breaking ideas that help brands stand apart. 

In a four-week sprint where everyone is fighting for mental availability, the work that blends emotion with identity will deliver the strongest brand lift.

Winning hearts and minds this Christmas

As we hit the final stretch of the festive ad race, one thing is clear: Christmas may run on emotion, but effectiveness runs on memory. 

The campaigns making the biggest impact aren’t just pulling heartstrings or throwing big budgets at the screen; they’re showing up with consistency, clarity and an unmistakable brand identity. 

For marketers, the takeaway is simple: tell a story worth watching and build a world worth remembering. Make sure your brand is impossible to miss –  whether that’s through a carrot, a giant, or a jingle. 

During a season when audiences are juggling shopping lists, school plays, office parties and questionable jumpers, the ads that rise above the tinsel are the ones that will win far beyond just the Christmas period.

Michael Isaacs-Olaye is UK MD at Happydemics