Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year. And, for the ad industry, the shining beacon in ‘the golden quarter’ of retail spend.

A Christmas campaign is a staple of the marketing calendar for most retail brands and for a long time, it has been a battle of who can pull most at the heartstrings. Acoustic soundtracks and heartwarming, yet somehow devastating, emotive stories with messages around the importance of giving have left audiences reaching for boxes of tissues.

Yet with the world in turbulence, in a super-election year where almost half of the world's population has taken part in a political vote, consumers are emotionally spent.

In the midst of a year of chaos brands have an opportunity to be a source of joy as Christmas provides some light at the end of the 2024 tunnel. Christmas can be emotional, but it can also be fun, joyous and celebratory. With this in mind we asked industry leaders how can the industry bring the joy back to Christmas advertising?

Christmas isn’t just one day for children. It's writing Santa a letter, buying his favourite mince pie, and seeing his snowy footprints on the floor the next morning. Adults create a magical world around Santa. The industry needs to take a page out of this book.

Advertisers often focus solely on the ad itself, treating it as the centrepiece of their campaign. It's no surprise that modern audiences no longer feel truly invested in a 40-second advert - that's the length of the average TikTok in 2024!

Some brands are starting to think beyond the ad, like our client Asda, whose gnomes leaked the ad on Instagram, took over TikTok with ‘gnome POV content’ and created pop up mini-gnome stalls along the Southbank for some IRL joy. Others, like Sainsbury’s, missed opportunities to extend the magic this year. Imagine bringing the beloved BFG to life with interactive in-store experiences or playful social-first content.

To truly bring the joy back to festive advertising, we must think beyond the traditional ad — spreading its magic across every touchpoint to make it an unforgettable part of people’s Christmas.

For too long, Christmas advertising has turned into a tear-jerking arms race, with brands vying to pull the hardest on our heartstrings. Now, whilst it does seem like the tide is turning, isn't it time we laughed our heads off instead of sobbing into our mince pies? Where’s the knowing wit, the cheeky sparkle that’s long been at the heart of the best of British comedy? This is the country that gave us Christmas classics like Only Fools and Horses going full Scarface in Miami, The Royale Family’s acerbic smoke laden sofa banter, or the undoubted national joy that will resound following the final Gavin and Stacey reunion.

This year’s Waitrose ad felt like a glimmer of hope, a knowing wink in a sea of saccharine sentimentality. Imagine if Sky followed this move and rolled out Jim Royale, spluttering out once more ‘BLOODY SKY!’  as he wrestles with the increasingly impossible remote, while Barb fusses over the sprouts. Let’s finally ditch the faux-profound storytelling and lean into Christmas for what it is: joyful, messy, and a bit ridiculous. Laughter is the sound of connection, and in our house, the hallmark of the family festive spirit. It’s time we let our ads reflect that. Because if Christmas is a time for togetherness, what brings us closer than sharing a good old belly laugh?

The joy of Christmas advertising lies in its ability to create emotional connections and cultural moments. While campaigns centred around seasonal promotions like Black Friday, Boxing Day sales or Christmas promotional activities have their place, they can sometimes overshadow the creativity and storytelling that make Christmas ads iconic.

The magic happens when brands blend art and science, harnessing data to inform creative work, not constrain it. Crafting moments that stop people scrolling and spark emotion needs to take priority over performance-first creative, which often reduces ads to formulaic content.

By using data to inform, not dictate, brands can create work that combines heart and strategy. Memorable Christmas campaigns don’t just sell, they build brand affinity in both the short and long term, tapping into the season’s inherent joy whilst leaving a lasting impression.

It seems a lifetime ago that the ASA (only just) cleared Asda for its ‘sexist’ ad. We watched Mum doing all the work, finally rewarded by having created the cookie-cutter perfect Christmas for her family, the VO affirming, ‘behind every great Christmas there’s Mum’.

Eleven years later and Christmas ads are showing us a far wider range of celebrations and viewpoints.

At eight&four we’ve cheered on JD Sports and Papa John’s down-to-earth offerings, loving how they reflect ‘real’ Christmases in all their messy glory. This approach feels natural for these brands, so we’d love to see luxury and premium brands bringing this inclusivity to life in a way that resonates with their unique audiences.

So how can adverts bring back the joy of Christmas? By making our own joy, in whatever form it may take – low-key or OTT, with a big family or a couple of friends – feel real and legitimate.

Adverts can either be the drivers that heap pressure onto Christmas, and leave people feeling lacking, or they can be the champions of ‘celebrating what you actually have’. There’s real joy in seeing our lived Christmas experiences reflected on screen.  

Put entertainment front and centre.

A funny and entertaining ad can deliver a hit of joy. As the world around us, the narratives, the headlines grow gloomier and more threatening, any brief respite is ever welcome.

This year’s batch of festive ads have started to get us back on the journey to joy. My favourite so far has been the Waitrose Food ad. It’s the ad spot equivalent of a Christmas special.

It’s taken a smart cue from the music industry, uniting different fandoms to fuel ‘crossover appeal’ to maximise engagement. Put famous faces from Succession, Slow Horses, Fleabag and 8 out of 10 cats… in a room, and I for one am very keen to see what happens next.

Like a great observational stand-up gag, the ad has completely reframed a food ad by taking a well-worn premise and adding an unexpected angle that feels fresh and unique. This draws you in and helps the ad cut through.

It does all this without forgetting the fundamentals – amidst all the talent, the product remains the hero: a dessert so good that you would commit a ‘crime’ for it.

It's the most wonderful time of year for advertisers, but in theatre those promises of cosy nostalgia, togetherness and joy... actually ring true.

Our job is to simply remind audiences that the warm, fuzzy feelings they associate with Christmas are present all year round, right across the West End. Where else can you spend time with friends and loved ones to laugh, cry, sing and dance? To be together. To feel.

And if we can have some fun with it, even better. A festive pun is always good for a giggle  – such as Back to the Future's 'Ding Dong Merrily McFly' – but it's also the perfect opportunity to go big, such as last year's Mrs Doubtfire TV spot which gently poked fun at the more traditional Christmas ads.

In theatre, the joy in advertising is there all year round. At Christmas, we just stick a bow on it.

I must confess, I am annually perplexed by the sheer madness that overwhelms the UK population ahead of and over Christmas. At a fundamental, cultural level, people seem to lose their minds—but I am South African and Christmases are, well, different down there.

Does everyone really have to wear those godawful jumpers? Are we really expected to eat quite so much pastry? Does anyone even like Yorkshire pudding without a jug of gravy poured over it?

Yet, having endured 19 winters here, I do understand the need to suspend reality and exist entirely in a world of food comfort, warmth and “Die Hard” reruns for a good few days each year.

So why is it that so much Christmas advertising leaves me cold? And how do we bring back the joy?

Well, here’s a thought. What if we didn’t rely on increasingly extravagant and over-the-top productions and, instead, went back to simple, authentic storytelling?

Christmas isn’t about the food or the toys or the sequins (retailers, hear me out). It’s about relationships - family, friends, community.

It need not be earnest or sentimental, it can be playful, well-observed, funny.

It doesn’t need a convoluted storyline—we’re not that complicated. It can be simple.

I say drop the extravaganzas, the endless ‘here’s another film written to an earnest poem/song’, the kitsch, the explicit overconsumption. And just bring back some simple, human connection and joy. It’s all I want for Christmas.

I’m probably the wrong person to answer this. I'm a diehard Christmas advocate. I love everything about it, Christmas ads included.

The season is defined by joy, and joy is defined by many, many things: connection, love, food, music, family, gifts, generosity, community, food again. Every year, these familiar moments are plucked from the advertising archives like your box of tree decorations, signalling the return of the festivities. And yes, the November/December ad landscape is an over-crowded, sensory overload - but have you ever been Christmas Shopping on Oxford Street? Or Carol Singing on Columbia Road? Whether you’re watching a tear jerker TVC for the umpteenth time or harassing your family WhatsApp with another festive food film from social, it all feeds into the general seasonal chaos and merriment and escapism. Sure, it's probably got a little out of hand - and perhaps the industry over indulges itself. But if you can’t over indulge at Christmas, when can you?

Consumerism is making us less happy- and this is never more true than at Christmas. In fact, a University of Warwick study has shown that if you double advertising spending, it leads to a 3% drop in life satisfaction. But what if you were to spend your money on products that could bring genuine joy instead?

We’ve teamed up with the charity, Choose Love, to spread the word about their new pop-up department store, which allows you to buy essential items that go directly to displaced people around the world. It’s every bit as festive as Liberty or Fortnum & Mason, but it has the true spirit of Christmas at its heart; that of giving and helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

We spread this joy by creating a heartwarming film highlighting how each product on sale directly benefits displaced people, based on two very important tenets: love and solidarity. It was then given a special slot on the iconic big screen at Piccadilly Circus, lighting up central London- and then social media- with its positive message.

Additionally, we’ve made a moving fundraising film that will appear online and at the upcoming Choose Love Gala. Soundtracked by Coldplay’s “Yellow” and featuring a voiceover from Oscar winner, Olivia Colman, it shows that while we may be living in dark times, we can still come together to choose love. There’s no more joyous use of advertising than harnessing our Christmas spirit to unite millions of people across the globe.