This Year’s Christmas Ads: Reviewed
As we edge closer to Christmas, the Vinegar Creative studio is slowly but surely getting festive. The fairy lights are up, the snacks are getting progressively more sugar-based, and even Mr Grinch himself (you know who you are) has started humming along to the odd Christmas track.
And in true agency fashion, there’s one seasonal ritual we take very seriously:
watching – and ruthlessly dissecting – the Christmas ads.
This year, we’ve lined up a pretty strong cast:
John Lewis – “Where Love Lives”
Waitrose’s four-minute rom-com with Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson
M&S and their fairy-led traffic jam glow-up
Boots, from Mrs Claus to Puss in Boots
itsu’s brilliantly honest “anti-Christmas Christmas ad”
Barbour’s stop-motion joy with Wallace & Gromit
Some are heartwarming, some are chaotic, some are quietly clever – and a couple are, let’s say, “interesting choices”.
Below, you’ll find our take on what each brand got right (and wrong), how the public’s reacted, and – most importantly – what smaller brands can learn if you don’t have a John Lewis-sized budget.
Have a read and let me know what you think:
John Lewis – “Where Love Lives”: Heartwarming or Too Heavy?
The 2025 John Lewis Christmas ad, “Where Love Lives,” has really split opinion – which, in a way, proves how powerful it is.
This year, we’re not in whimsical penguin or animated-dragon territory. Instead, we’re with a father and his teenage son, navigating a strained, mostly unspoken relationship. The emotional centre of the ad is a meaningful gift that becomes a bridge between them.
What people are saying:
Positive reactions:
Heartwarming and meaningful: A lot of viewers found it deeply emotional and moving – proper lump-in-the-throat stuff.
Realistic family dynamics: It’s being praised for a more honest, relatable portrayal of a father–son relationship, rather than a glossy, picture-perfect Christmas.
Topical and timely: The ad has been widely recognised for touching on male loneliness and the difficulty men and teenage boys can have expressing emotion.
Subtle storytelling: The focus on non-verbal communication – the looks, the silences, the small gesture of a gift – really resonates with people who are tired of over-explained narratives.
Negative reactions:
Some viewers feel it’s too dark and “not Christmassy enough”.
Others describe it as “depressing” rather than festive escapism.
My take:
John Lewis has always traded in emotion, but this year feels more grounded and human than magical. Whether you love it or find it a bit heavy, it’s doing what good storytelling should do: starting conversations.
What smaller brands can learn:
You don’t have to be relentlessly jolly. If your brand has a more thoughtful, human tone, there’s space for quieter, more honest stories – as long as there’s a thread of hope or connection at the end.
Waitrose – Keira Knightley, Joe Wilkinson and a Four-Minute Rom-Com
The 2025 Waitrose Christmas ad goes all-in on romantic comedy – and at four minutes long, it’s being billed as an “industry first”.
Starring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson, it plays like a mini Love Actually tribute: two people circling each other, their budding romance unfolding over Waitrose food.
Reaction in a nutshell:
Largely positive: Many viewers are calling it “brilliant” and even “the best of the year”.
Feel-good and festive: It’s being praised for its humour, warmth and proper Christmas-movie atmosphere.
A bit muddled (but forgivably so): Some critics think the plot is slightly confusing – but honestly, for a four-minute rom-com that’s also a supermarket ad, that feels like a small price to pay.
Personally, I’m a sucker for a Christmas love story – and I think most of us would agree Joe Wilkinson has landed himself a pretty decent gig here.
What smaller brands can learn:
You don’t need four minutes or A-list casting, but:
Framing your ad as a mini-genre piece (rom-com, heist, mockumentary) can make it instantly engaging.
If you go longer-form, make sure the product keeps weaving naturally through the story, like Waitrose does with the food.
M&S – Fairy, Gridlock and a Very On-Brand Glow-Up
M&S continues to lean into high-gloss, high-style Christmas – and the reaction, as usual, is mixed.
The 2025 ad features Dawn French returning as the fairy, this time transforming a gridlocked Christmas traffic jam into a full-on festive party with M&S food, all set to Chris Rea’s “Driving Home for Christmas”.
Why some people love it:
Stylish and glamorous: It’s visually lush, with that unmistakable M&S polish.
Escapist fantasy: Turning a tedious traffic jam into a magical food-fuelled celebration is a very Christmassy wish-fulfilment idea.
Why some people don’t:
There’s a sense among some viewers that it feels a bit out of touch – more aspirational fantasy than relatable reality.
The shadow of the 2023 “Thismas” ad still lingers, where the “do Christmas your way” message was read by many as undermining the spirit of Christmas altogether.
What smaller brands can learn:
Style and glamour are great – but they need to be grounded in something your audience actually recognises. If you’re going big and glossy, make sure there’s still a human truth underneath the sparkle.
Boots – From Mrs Claus to Puss in Boots
Boots has had a few interesting years at Christmas, and the reviews reflect that.
The 2024 ad featured Adjoa Andoh as a kind of “Mrs Claus” figure – a powerhouse who takes charge of gift-giving. It was praised by many for its inclusive, empowering angle, but also attacked by some as “woke” or “anti-male”.
The 2025 ad switches gears again, this time bringing in Puss in Boots as the central character.
Reactions:
Humorous and fun: A lot of people see the Puss in Boots approach as witty, playful and a welcome break from ultra-serious festive storytelling.
Bizarre but memorable: Some critics find it slightly odd, but in a way that sticks in your mind – which, from a brand point of view, isn’t the worst outcome.
And honestly? I’d say it’s better than last year’s – it feels lighter, more fun, and less likely to start a culture war in the comments section.
What smaller brands can learn:
You can be playful and character-led without losing your brand. If you borrow or create a character:
Make sure they clearly connect back to what you sell.
Keep the tone consistent year to year so it feels like a world you’re building, not a random stunt.
itsu – The Anti-Christmas Christmas Ad (Owning the January Moment)
itsu’s 2025 Christmas ad is one of the most self-aware of the year – and that’s exactly why it stands out.
Instead of pretending to be a festive essential, it openly admits that its sales dip during Christmas. The star of the show is the returning Wealdstone Raider. When he’s asked, “You want dimsum?”, the answer is blunt and brilliant:
“No mate, it’s Christmas!”
From there, the ad leans into its role as an “anti-Christmas Christmas ad”. The voiceover acknowledges that both sales and spirits drop, but calmly states that itsu will be waiting when everyone comes crawling back in January.
Why it works:
Radical honesty: It’s refreshing to see a brand admit, “This isn’t our season.”
Humour with bite: The Wealdstone Raider gives it a slightly cult, tongue-in-cheek edge.
Smart positioning: It quietly reminds you that January is itsu’s real moment – when people are looking for lighter, fresher options after the December excess.
What smaller brands can learn:
If Christmas isn’t naturally your time, don’t force it. You can:
Acknowledge the reality with humour
Position yourself clearly for the moment when your audience does need you
Use design and tone to make even a “we’re quiet right now” message feel memorable
Barbour x Wallace & Gromit – Short, Sweet and Stop-Motion Perfect
The 2025 Barbour Christmas ad is, once again, one of the quiet highlights of the season – at least in my calendar.
Barbour has been collaborating with Aardman for years, often via Shaun the Sheep. This year, though, they’ve gone back to the OGs: Wallace and Gromit.
A quick reminder for the kids: Shaun the Sheep is actually a Wallace & Gromit spinoff. Whether that lands with younger viewers is debatable – but they’re not the ones with the disposable income. For the rest of us who love Gromit with the heat of a thousand burning suns, this is a very welcome development.
The setup:
Gromit is, as ever, quietly getting on with things – wrapping his presents by hand.
Wallace, naturally, has invented a “Gift-O-Matic” for the big day.
The machine, of course, comes in a very Barbour shade of tartan – “Winterberry”, a colour that’s exclusive to this year.
The ad is short but sweet – no overblown drama, just classic Aardman charm, a touch of chaos, and Barbour jackets woven naturally into the story.
Why it works:
Aardman magic: The stop-motion craft, humour and warmth do so much heavy lifting.
Consistency: Barbour has turned these Aardman collaborations into a genuine Christmas tradition.
Product love: The jackets are not just props – they’re part of the narrative, repaired, reused and cherished.
So, What Do This Year’s Christmas Ads Actually Tell Us?
If there’s a theme running through this year’s Christmas ads, it’s that there’s no single “right” way to do festive.
John Lewis is tackling male loneliness with a quieter, heavier kind of emotion. Waitrose is serving up a four-minute rom-com with Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson. M&S is doubling down on glossy escapism. Boots is still experimenting with characters and empowerment. itsu is happily admitting Christmas isn’t its moment. And Barbour, with Wallace & Gromit, is quietly proving that a short, beautifully crafted story can be more effective than any big-budget epic.
Some of these ads are divisive, some are instant crowd-pleasers, and some are just delightfully odd. But the ones that really stick have a few things in common:
They know exactly who they are as a brand
They’re clear about how they want people to feel
And they’re not afraid to commit to a distinctive idea, even if not everyone loves it
For smaller brands, that’s the real takeaway. You don’t need celebrity cameos or a four-minute film – you need a clear story, a strong visual world, and the confidence to show up as you, not a low-budget version of someone else.
At Vinegar Creative, this is the bit we love: taking the thinking behind the big Christmas campaigns and translating it into social content, landing pages, emails and visuals that actually fit real-world budgets.
If you’re already thinking about how your brand shows up next Christmas (or how to give this year’s campaigns a last-minute polish), let’s chat. Even Mr Grinch in our studio is feeling festive enough to admit: when you get the story right, Christmas campaigns can be a lot of fun.