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Can you have too much of a good thing? Well, it turns out the answer to this is in fact yes.
Because I sat down and watched every major Christmas advert released in the UK in 2024 all in one go and I think I got a sugar rush of the brain. I felt the same way I do after gorging myself on gingerbread men on December 25 - shame, festive cheer and like I wanted to throw up.
There were plenty of highs - I’ve already spoken of my love for this year’s John Lewis advert and that has not changed in the days since. However there were some really unfortunate lows.
1. Coca-Cola - The Holiday Magic is Coming
This AI made advert is an abomination and a complete desecration of one of the all time favourite Christmas ads. It also sets a worrying precedent if such a major company is using AI for an advert of this scale. Christmas rating: 0 Jingle Bells (lumps of coal for everyone involved). | Coca-Cola/ YouTube Photo: Coca-Cola/ YouTube
2. Smyths - Christmas advert 2024
The Christmasy-ness of the advert stretches to basically window dressing, being instead focused on the consumer side of the holiday. Christmas rating: 1 Jingle Bell. | Smyths/ YouTube Photo: Smyths/ YouTube
3. KFC - Kentucky Fried Turkey?
Look, it's fine. It is a fine ad - I chuckled at the ‘we heard you, we ignored you’ bit. But the song choice isn’t very Christmassy and aside from mentions of Turkey, it could be an advert for any time of the year. Christmas rating: 1 Jingle Bell. | KFC/ YouTube Photo: KFC/ YouTube
4. Aldi - Spirit of Christmas
While I’m sure younger audiences will enjoy it - especially if they are already Kevin the Carrot fans - the whole premise is starting to feel staler than three week old Christmas leftovers. Even the threat of Christmas spirit being stolen feels pretty flat - seemingly amounting to just festive lights being turned off and then back on again at the end. But maybe I’m just being extremely Grinchy - you can let me know your own verdict. Christmas rating: 1.5 Jingle Bells | Aldi/ YouTube Photo: Aldi/ YouTube
5. Debenhams - Duh, Debenhams
It is a fun advert, but while the experience of shopping in pouring rain might be relatable - it is not exactly the most Christmassy offering this year. It does have some good festive music as the soundtrack, but you won’t be rushing to queue up Mariah Carey or track down your copy of Elf after watching it. Christmas rating: 1.5 Jingle Bells. | Debenhams/ YouTube Photo: Debenhams/ YouTube
6. Argos - Rockstar
Look, this is a very, very clever advert. The play on a T-Rex playing a song by T-Rex is very fun and it has lovely Toy Story vibes - but the song choice isn’t the most Christmassy - he could have been rocking out to a festive tune. Although it captures the feeling of getting that present you really wanted. Christmas rating: 2.5 Jingle Bells. | Argos/ YouTube Photo: Argos/ YouTube