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Cozy up, make yourself some tea, get gingerbread ready, and turn on your gas fireplace (if you’ve got one), these are the best Christmas campaigns of 2022. You will laugh and you will cry, you will smile and you will get nostalgic. You know the drill, brand Christmas campaigns are always giving us the ultimate holiday vibes. It’s the best season for creativity and remarkable stories.
Let’s watch the best Christmas marketing campaigns of 2022.
1. One of a kind-ness – Barbour
Why: UK retailer Barbour gets old-fashioned for this charming animated story about choosing the right present. The brand employs the one and only Paddington bear as a protagonist that finds the perfect gift for Mr. Curry. It is accompanied by fantastic music and sends the most positive Christmas vibes you can imagine.
2. Share The Magic this Christmas – Celtic FC
Why: Scottish football club Celtic reminds the world that the Christmas campaigns are not only reserved for brands. It’s an earnest, simple, and cheering commercial that is guaranteed to put you straight into the holiday mood.
While not having the mind-blowing cinematic chops, it is honest in its goal of making Celtic fans happy about their club and happy about Christmas.
3. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Waitrose
Why: British supermarket brand Waitrose (that is owned by none other than Christmas campaigns king supreme John Lewis) shows us the supply chain of products that end up on the holiday table. And does it in style.
There are two parts to the story here. One of the farmers that work hard to make sure that you’re getting the best of the best for your Christmas family dinner. Another is the family dinner itself where we even get a beautiful act of holiday sharing performed by the little girl who gives a piece of sausage to her crying brother.
This Christmas campaign is beautifully shot, wholesome, and simple. Just as we want it.
4. The Gift – Disney
Why: you simply can’t beat Disney at telling tear-jerking stories. There are no words in their 2022 Christmas campaign but the emotions will overwhelm you by the end of the video. It’s all about the family, appreciating little things, love, and sharing love. Definitely one of the best Christmas marketing campaigns. But what else can you expect from a company that owns Pixar and Marvel?
5. The List – McDonald’s
Why: Academy Award-winner Tom Hooper (Les Miserables, King’s Speech) is no stranger to the Christmas campaigns. It was he who directed “Christmas with love from Mrs. Claus” from M&S that made it to our list of the best holiday ads of all time. The director applies his magic touch again, albeit on a smaller, more intimate level for this brand’s Christmas campaign of McDonald’s.
It follows a boy making a long, very long list of Christmas wishes. The list follows him around town as he adds more and more things to it. Suddenly, the winter wind blows the list away leaving the boy frustrated.
But he has a loving family and they go together to McDonald’s and that’s a beautiful moment. The ad is all about the importance of non-material things and cherishing what you have. And that’s one of our top Christmas marketing campaigns in 2022.
6. The Beginner – John Lewis & Partners
Why: are you ready for some goosebumps? John Lewis is known for their Christmas campaigns but this one may be one of its most poignant ones. The ending is guaranteed to knock you off your comfort zone.
It starts with an ordinary British man trying to learn how to skate. It’s adorable. It’s also the Christmas season, we see him decorating the house with his wife and preparing festive food. A shot of him watching a YouTube video showing skating tricks while in a super typical British cubical is for the ages. But the “why” is burning in the air. What is the ad trying to say really with this skating story?
We have the resolution at the end of the video. There is a ring on the door, and the couple is rushing to greet the visitors. A girl with a skateboard is standing at the entrance there accompanied by the foster care agent. The video’s protagonist was doing all the skating practice to better blend in with the new member of the family.
We’re not crying, you are.
7. Once Upon a Pud – Sainsbury’s
Why: choosing a lighter, trope-free approach to a Christmas campaign is a winning move for Sansbury’s this year. They invite us on a feast of a demanding The Countess (played with bravado by British TV personality Alison Hammond). The cooks queue up to impress her with their Christmas meals. But there’s one chef that brings pudding. The Countess hates pudding, he should have known, the hangman is preparing his blade, and the crow proclaims an “o ooh”.
Chef wants to prove himself to the Countess and reimagines the same pudding adding different ingredients. New tasting is organized and the queen loves it. The chef is saved, everyone is having a good time, and the hangman gives a high five to the court official. Merry Christmas, we guess?
On a side note, we absolutely loved this Bridgerton-inspired slightly macabre Christmas campaign soundtracked by the medieval version of Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’. That’s how you do creativity in 2022.
