Christmas ads 2025: rave dads, awkward neighbours and a Sussex Charmer
The mince pies are back. Once again, I sat down with MOREVER Creative Director Dan Mellor to watch our way through a selection pack of this year’s highest profile Christmas ads, pausing, rewinding and occasionally squinting, to decide which ones will earn a place in our 2025 festive memories.
From supermarket realism to rave-tinged nostalgia, here’s what stood out this year.
Lidl: More to Value this Christmas
Who turned out the lights?
On paper, Lidl has all the right ingredients this year: a giving-back message, a child hero and a campaign idea that ties in with a very good cause. In practice, it doesn’t quite come together.
The first thing that hits you is the grade. Everything is a little dark, but not in a moody, cinematic way, in a murky “is it my screen?” kind of way. The Christmas sparkle is on mute. We were left searching for what we were supposed to be seeing.
The script doesn’t help. Lines like “time isn’t money anymore” land with a thud, especially in the mouth of a child whose dialogue never feels like something a real kid would say. There’s a mismatch between the age of the hero and the self-conscious, slogan-y language they’ve been given.
Visually, there are odd choices and loose links. Moments we’re clearly meant to ‘get’, such as the possible lemons / lemonade metaphor which requires you to mentally reverse-engineer the thought process behind it. If anyone knows what the significance of the lemons was, please let us know! Ultimately, if you have to decode most of an ad after watching it then something’s gone wrong in the storytelling.
In short: the values are on-brand, but the execution feels like a compromise. Note: make sure your screen is on full brightness when you watch it.
Verdict: More “meh” than magic – 4/10
Tesco: That's What Makes It Christmas
Tesco leans into something many of us recognise all too well: those tiny social frictions that come with Christmas. The colleagues you’re obliged to buy for. The neighbour you’re not quite in the mood to see. The family moments that make you grit your teeth now but laugh later.
Structurally, the campaign is a series of short vignettes rather than one big hero film. Each short stands alone: as a sharp, well-observed sketch with a clear set-up and a neat payoff. We’re guessing the slightly longer, stand alone versions of these shorts will be unveiled throughout the season and on social media. The writing is the star, giving voice to the things we all think but rarely say out loud.
There’s a pleasing gritty realism to the casting and locations too. It’s recognisably British, recognisably now, and refreshingly free of the airbrushed, hyper-perfect Christmas that so many brands still default to. The use of regional accents adds to that sense of authenticity, it’s a full tapestry of modern Britain.
The result is strangely therapeutic. By making us laugh at situations we’ve disliked in real life, Tesco gives us a bit of distance and a way to reframe them. If (when) those moments happen again, the ad has given us a shared cultural joke to soften the blow.
If there’s a critique, it’s only that the emotional impact is spread out. Because it’s a suite of moments rather than a single story, nothing quite lands as “the” Tesco Christmas ad in the way a more singular film might. But as a campaign idea, it’s strong.
Verdict: Social awkwardness, nicely seasoned – 7.5/10
John Lewis: Where Love Lives
This year’s John Lewis entry swaps dragons and tear-jerker toys for something more grounded: the emotional gap between a father and his teenage son, and the way music and nostalgia can bridge it.
We see a dad whose youth was clearly spent on dancefloors, now trying to find a way into his son’s world. The emotional arc is classic John Lewis: distance, effort, reconnection. The wrapping is new: 90s club culture, a carefully chosen track and a strong nod to the current wave of rave nostalgia on social media. We love the moment when the track switches into the acoustic arrangement, perfectly timed to match the ‘emotional drop’ in the narrative.
Dan was particularly taken with the restraint in the storytelling. Rather than over-explain their relationship, the film lets us fill in the blanks. The unsaid things between fathers and sons are as important as the moments we see on screen.
Personally, I would have preferred a touch more set-up at the beginning to make the distance between father and son clearer. For some viewers, the starting point of their relationship might feel a bit under-sketched, which slightly blunts the impact of the resolution. I also recall the reality of the 90s clubbing scene being WAY sweatier than this sanitised John Lewis version!
Taken as a whole, it’s a clean, confident and emotionally satisfying idea aimed firmly at men of a certain age (and their sons). It’s a demographic John Lewis doesn’t always prioritise. The choice of track might be a little obvious for seasoned ravers, but for mainstream audiences it’s exactly right: tell us where the love lives, and then show us.
Verdict: Big feelings, quietly, but cleverly, handled – 8/10
Waitrose: The Perfect Gift
Waitrose continues to embrace the “Christmas with personality” route, this time fronted by a familiar face (and local neighbour of the MOREVER studio) whose dry wit and gauche charm, plus a recent appearance on ‘Celebrity Traitors’, does lots of heavy lifting.
The hero film is enjoyable on its own: well-cast, gently funny and packed with little details (and one of Dan’s many favourite cheeses: Sussex Charmer) that feel specific rather than generic. There’s a looseness to the performances that makes the whole thing feel less like a constructed ad and more like being invited into someone’s slightly chaotic, very well-catered Christmas.
What has really impressed us, though, is the wider campaign. The fake BTS clips, the social snippets, the extra content…these extensions are so strong that they arguably rival the main film. They deepen the sense of a world, rather than just repeating the same message in different aspect ratios. Put together they create a mini ‘romcom’ in the same vein as classics such as ‘Love Actually’.
As a total package, it’s cohesive, charming and clearly anchored in the brand’s foodie heartland. It’s important to say that this one really entertains - and often this is all a Christmas ad needs to do.
Verdict: Comfort food for the soul – 8.5/10
ETSY: Little Drummer Boy 30
If Lidl is an example of an idea getting lost in over-complication, Etsy is the opposite: a simple, focused story told with clarity and heart.
The grade is immediately more inviting. It’s bright enough that you can see what’s going on, warm enough to feel festive without tipping into syrup. The camera stays close to one central character, letting us invest in their small but meaningful emotional journey.
There’s no big twist, no heavy-handed message. Just a well-cast lead, natural performances and a moment of thoughtfulness that captures what Christmas can be at its best: noticing someone, really seeing them, and choosing something that says “I get you.”
It also quietly celebrates diversity through accent and casting without turning that into the point of the ad. It’s just the world, as it is. That makes it feel both modern and timeless, right in the sweet spot for a brand built on personal, handcrafted gifts.
In Dan’s words, this is a great example of “keeping it simple and letting it work”.
Verdict: Small story, big heart – 9/10
That's a wrap!
Watching this year’s crop back-to-back, a few themes emerge.
Firstly, realism is very much in. From Tesco’s socially awkward vignettes to John Lewis’s rave dad and Waitrose’s slightly frazzled festivities, brands are moving away from glossy fantasy towards the messy, recognisable truth of how Christmas actually feels.
Second, the best work doesn’t just live in a single 60-second spot. Waitrose, especially, shows how strong supporting content can deepen a story and bring a campaign to life in unexpected ways.
A third trend that stood out this year was regionality. Across the board, from Tesco’s Liverpudlian and Welsh tones to Etsy’s Midlands warmth, we noticed a real move away from the London/South-East ‘default’ voice of Christmas advertising. Instead, brands are embracing the full spectrum of British accents. It makes this year’s collection feel more representative, more lived-in and far less South-centric.
Finally, the ads that stayed with us were the ones that trusted a simple human moment: a dad trying to connect; a small, thoughtful gift; a joke that takes the sting out of an awkward situation.
When brands respect their audience enough to keep the message clear and the emotion honest, the impact lingers long after the decorations come down. And, as an agency that lives and breathes human stories, it’s exactly the kind of work we love to champion.
Ready to step into Christmas a bit more? Here's a Christmas fundraising video we made for Ben, the automotive charity.