Member Article

Christmas-themed ads prove most popular with festive consumers

While some people may complain they are suffering from festive fatigue, consumers still want to see Christmas-themes adverts over the holiday season, according to a new study by consumer researchers Other Lines of Enquiry (a division of DRG).

The study, conducted with more than 1,000 members* of its online panel, found that 68% of respondents thought that a Christmas theme was essential to a great festive advert. A close second was ‘a story telling theme’, which was considered a great element by 66% of the panel, and 52% of participants felt the adverts should be family oriented. The element considered least important by the panel was including a famous face, which was only selected by 7% of respondents.

The panel was also asked about what themes were important in Christmas adverts, and overwhelmingly, the majority of participants wanted to see something heart-warming and festive, with 66% and 64% of respondents selecting these respectively. Other popular themes included ‘uplifting’ (46%), and ‘traditional’ (45%). ‘Tear-jerker’, which is a common theme for Christmas adverts, proved less popular, with only 20% of participants choosing it as a great theme.

Penny Browell, Research Director at DRG, said: “Christmas adverts have become an institution nowadays, and people eagerly anticipate the offerings from their favourite brands. In previous research, we found that, before its release, 43% of our panel felt the John Lewis advert would win our hearts as the nation’s favourite Christmas advert.

“The popularity of these adverts can be linked to their use of these popular themes and elements, including making it Christmassy, telling a story, and appealing to families. This year has been quite a turbulent one for many people, so it is no surprise that feel-good themes, like being heart-warming and uplifting, are proving popular with the public.

“Getting the right ingredients for a Christmas advert is a tough job, but as many popular brands have shown, when you get the perfect combination it can turn your brand into the star at the top of the tree.”

*Sample size - 1,007 participants, allowed to choose all applicable answers

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rosie Earl .