Dating back as early as the 1950s, Christmas advertising has become a deeply embedded cultural tradition in the UK. Each year, brands begin planning their festive campaigns months in advance, all in pursuit of the same goal: to create a Christmas ad that cuts through the noise and captures the nation’s attention.

But once Halloween slips into the rear-view mirror, the pressure intensifies. With just eight weeks to make an impact, brands must win over audiences who are not only bombarded with festive messaging, but have been watching Christmas ads for many years. In a season defined by familiarity and ritual, standing out has never been more difficult.

And so, in 2025, many brands turned to the one thing they knew would resonate: the past.

If there’s one trend we can confidently pull from the 2025 Christmas ad lineup, it’s this: We are deep in the era of nostalgia.

Barbour revived the beloved duo of Wallace and Gromit , Asda embraced the classic Christmas Grinch, while both Waitrose and Google Pixel borrowed actors from Love Actually. Even Boots joined the trend, reimagining the fairytale Puss in Boots with a slick-talking animated ginger cat as its festive mascot.

But not every experiment landed. Coca-Cola’s AI-generated ‘Holidays Are Coming’ left some audiences unimpressed, showing that innovation without emotional resonance can backfire.

So, what went right?

With so many Christmas ads airing this year, it’s impossible to rank them all, but a few stood out for their creativity, emotional resonance, and clever execution.

Barbour’s Wallace & Gromit ad fuses British heritage with playful charm. By pairing familiar cultural icons with Barbour’s signature craftsmanship, the campaign reinforces associations with quintessentially British style and quality. The handcrafted stop-motion animation adds warmth and personality, helping the ad stand out in a year when other brands, like Coca-Cola, relied heavily on AI-generated content.

On the other hand, Keira Knightley reprised a rom-com-inspired role reminiscent of Love Actually for Waitrose, creating an instant emotional connection with audiences familiar with the iconic film. By placing her in a new scenario, alongside Joe Wilkinson, viewers are given something both familiar and fresh.

Meanwhile, Thomas Brodie-Sangster leaned into his own Love Actually legacy in Google’s ‘It’s Pixel, actually’ campaign, humorously misinterpreting people’s photography moments as being about him.

Both campaigns demonstrate how nostalgia can be used strategically: tapping into well-known cultural touchstones to quickly engage audiences, while introducing new stories and humorous twists that make the content feel relevant today. By blending the familiar with the unexpected, these ads show that iconic characters and moments can resonate without feeling like recycled content.

Is history repeating itself?

It’s clear nostalgia was a strong influence on this year’s creativity, though some organisations go beyond this and simply reuse previous campaigns. Research from Kantar identifies that repeat campaigns dominated this year’s Christmas advertising, with the top two performing TV spots reusing previous content, demonstrating the value of evolution over invention:

• Cadbury’s ‘Secret Santa’ emerged as the most effective ad overall, since its launch in 2018 the Christmas campaign has encouraged people to anonymously gift chocolate.
• Coca-Cola’s ‘Holidays Are Coming’ returned this year, remade with AI, and despite receiving initial backlash, it’s still performing strongly.

Other strong performers were: Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot series, M&S’s fairy character, and Asda’s Grinchmas ad (which was the only ad in the top ten with a totally new idea).

Are brands playing it safe?

Nostalgia is a powerful psychological tool. It’s been tried and tested that ads which incorporate nostalgic elements perform best and are more likely to go viral. Yet, the reliance on past British classics raises an important question: Are we seeing strategic comfort-food creativity, or simply lazy throwbacks?

The repeated use of Love Actually across multiple campaigns is emblematic of a wider cultural pattern. Beyond advertising, film and television are dominated by reboots, remakes, sequels, and spin-offs. Familiarity has become the default, not the exception.

Yet there is clear evidence that originality can still win. John Lewis, long regarded as the unofficial referee of British Christmas advertising, achieved a 16.1% increase in brand awareness with ‘Where Love Lives’. Rather than leaning on a well-known cultural reference, the campaign introduced a new story centred on the relationship between a father and son, using music as a bridge for emotional connection. It proved that fresh ideas can still cut through a crowded festive landscape.

Do brands need a creative reset?

Nostalgia works because it’s safe. And in uncertain times, safe feels reassuring. Familiar characters and well-loved cultural references offer comfort to audiences – and crucially, they deliver proven results. From a performance perspective, it makes complete sense that brands continue to return to what works.

But this reliance on the past exposes a growing tension within festive advertising. While repeat campaigns and nostalgic storytelling drive awareness and engagement, they also risk narrowing the creative possibilities of the season. Christmas ads were once a space for bold ideas, original storytelling, and moments of genuine surprise.

The question, then, is not whether nostalgia should disappear, but whether it can evolve. Can brands use it as a springboard for new creative ideas rather than a safety net they rely on year after year? As John Lewis demonstrated with Where Love Lives, originality still has the power to cut through when it’s rooted in emotional truth.

As we look ahead to 2026, the opportunity for advertisers is clear. Audiences will always find comfort in the familiar, but they also crave fresh stories that reflect the world they live in now. After all, Christmas advertising has never just been about selling products. It’s about telling stories, creating emotion, and shaping memories.