Christmas ads 2026: which of this year’s batch can impress our experts?

Tesco

Total score: 15

Comedian Roisin Conaty goes the extra mile as a delivery driver after actor Anna Maxwell Martin orders her Christmas shop to the wrong address.

HC: A talented cast, heartwarming story, snow and a memorable soundtrack. The ingredients are there for a great Tesco Christmas advert, but it just felt too sombre and far-fetched, not sparkly and warm. Hopefully more to come in this story and maybe it will be a grower. 3/5

RM: It’s a mini drama – admittedly afternoon soap quality – but despite the likeability of Conaty and Maxwell Martin, the chances of any Tesco delivery driver going to these lengths is nil, so it’s a fiction, not an ad. If it achieves anything, it’s probably raising unrealistic expectations. A missed opportunity with this talent. 3/5

RS: A collision of heartwarming winter tale and a Motherland episode. It’s intriguing, endearing and a bit different. All to like. Question from me: what happens to Tesco’s water-tight logistics if every driver goes AWOL like this? And where are the products? 4/5

NW: My favourite bit is the turn of the teenager when she hears her mum has sent the delivery to the wrong place. Conaty and Maxwell Martin play who we think they are, with a brilliant script in a tale of life getting in the way of friendships. Oh, and Tesco delivers to every nook and cranny in the country. Lovely stuff. 5/5

Sainsbury’s

Total score: 12

Sainsbury’s drivers set the satnav for ‘giant country’ after learning that the BFG is ‘missing Christmas’.

HC: There’s a sense people want to feel Christmassy asap this year and Sainsbury’s biggest, friendliest giant naturally brings the magic. It captures the fun of Christmas, a sense of adventure, has a stab at jeopardy and makes you feel upbeat. Product nudges are focused on festive icons: pigs in blankets, sprouts and nibbly prawn bits. An everyman ad, which could be a great thing for Sainsbury’s trading numbers. 4/5

RM: I initially watched last year’s ad by mistake and didn’t notice. Fee fi ho hum – more of the same. Great animation, some good jokes, nice filmic references, so it’s well made, but surely a Christmas ad should aspire to more than that. Some focus products get a passing mention, but it’s thin stuff when your tagline is aspiring to offer ‘Everything that makes Christmas unmissable’. And it looks like the BFG has Covid, so he should be isolating. 2/5

RS: He’s Big. He’s Friendly. He’s Back. He’s Poorly. Amazing production quality, clever writing and details (satnav set to “avoiding trolls…”). It all adds up to another family-friendly epic, but I feel we need more reasons to choose Sainsbury’s for our big shop this year. Let’s see what product ads follow. 4/5

NW: Audiences seem split between ‘yay, I looooove the BFG’ and ‘Boring Friendly Giant’. For my money the big lad is no Kevin and it feels like year three of a licensing deal, suggesting we won’t see BFG anywhere near Sainsbury’s next year. Looks great, kids will love it and the food is lovely. *Stifles a yawn*. 2/5

Asda

Total score: 12

Asda leans into price, in a campaign conjuring Christmas parties and the famous pocket tap.

HC: It’s going to be a tight Christmas for many, and this ad offers the hope that you can have it all. It hits the seasonal buttons, but the YouTube comments sum it up (there aren’t any). It does what it needs to but not much to rave about. 3/5

RM: Such is the thrill of achieving “all of Christmas at Asda price”, it apparently sends you psychotic. Anyone getting that excited about a £50 plastic Christmas tree needs some kind of medication. It also manages to make the Asda pocket slap look pervy, which is off-putting for a family grocer. And why is Santa on a mobility scooter? 2/5

RS: Doubling down on Asda’s price competitiveness, and making smart shopping fun and glam. No over-thinking, just give increasingly cost-sensitive shoppers the reassurance they need that a great Christmas is still affordable. 4/5

NW: In a world of slowed down, pared-back acoustic music, the use of Dutch EDM to turn Christmas into a house rave is pretty bold. Asda Price slaps the viewer across the chops. 3/5

Aldi

Total score: 12

Kevin the Carrot is back again. Could it be his final Christmas adventure after Aldi’s parting of ways with McCann?

HC: The kids will love this – and that’s what Christmas is about for many. The scarecrow’s confusing directions raise a chuckle, but it could do with a dash more jeopardy. Some will be getting tired of the carrot, but I have a feeling this could be the swansong. 3/5

RM: In 2018, Kevin introduced Peanocchio, a boy he had created out of peas. Fast-forward to 2026 and there’s a steaming plate of peas on the dining table. Social services should be told. The collie/cauli dog pun isn’t bad and will give the soft toy sales a boost, but otherwise inspiration seems thin on the ground. Only one bum joke this year, so that’s a mercy, and a pair of fake breasts too if you look hard enough. It seems they have run out of ideas but are scared to stop the nonsense. 2/5

RS: Is this the end of Kevin? If so, the client team and incumbents should be incredibly proud of the joy they have given us over the past 10 years. It’s yet another triumph – warm, funny (“a bare behind”), super-cute – and the food looks amazing. What an act this is to follow. 5/5

NW: Consistent advertising is still where it’s at, right? Maybe, but creatively, this feels limp. While we still have Kevin the hero, a table groaning with standard Christmas fayre and Jim Broadbent’s mellifluous voice, Kevin has grown from cheeky lad to slightly boring family man and the jokes are thin. Maybe the kids will like it. Hoping for a Chantenay and Cauli-led revival in 2027. 2/5

Lidl

Total score: 11

In the social media campaign for the UK, Shaun Williamson of EastEnders fame belts out his version of Slade’s ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’. A separate Lidl international TV campaign is to follow.

HC: Anyone who’s been to a live “Barrioke” event will know it’s a feel-good cheese fest. Lidl capitalises on that with this ad. Chris Kamara makes a cameo and it captures the festive community feeling. The re-written lyrics are catchy and there’s a real risk it could take Christmas number one if Noddy Holder isn’t careful. 3/5

RM: Barry is always welcome on our screens, if it means we are in for some Extras-style humour. As it is, we get the extras but not much humour. Why him, why her and why her, you might ask about the cameos from Kamara, Kemi Rodgers and Abi Clarke? I can only assume it’s because, as with Lidl, they are cheap. 2/5

RS: Lidl’s ad is essentially a crystallisation of its brilliant business strategy. Why try and outspend big players when you can make something simpler, crowd-pleasing and great value. Peppered with wit and references to quality (the wine and champagne), Lidl knows who it is and what the people want. Some will hate it. I love it. 4/5

NW: Barry and Kammy for the oldies, two young ‘uns for the young ‘uns, a parody song, standard hideous Christmas jumper and a new line: ‘Lidl is unbelievable’. It’s not my cup of middle-aged, middle-class char but I suspect Lidlites will love it. Meanwhile, I’m left waiting for Lidl to persuade Luke Littler to change his name. 2/5

John Lewis

Total score: 15

Actor Kristin Scott Thomas turns to John Lewis to make Christmas exciting for her grandchildren after discovering they are unimpressed by her 1970s wooden dog on wheels.

HC: Big message, a relatable family dilemma, sparkly lights, a choir and a talking toy. “Don’t give up on giving” is insight-led, emotively delivered and inspires us to think about how we make each other feel on the big day. A powerful soundtrack is the icing on this Christmas cake of an ad, the wondrous rickshaw ride adds pace and the payoff is refreshing. 4/5

RM: It is all well-acted, but the three-minute version is light on content and drags. The important part – why John Lewis? – seems to be entirely missing. In the end it turns out that JL is the anti-Santa: rewarding the terrible behaviour of horrible and ungrateful children by giving them something nice. And did the voiceover mean to say “Let’s go on a montage” or is that a script direction that’s been voiced by mistake? Maybe it’s all about the feels. In which case this still fails. 3/5

RS: The music is knockout-good and the casting is spot-on. ‘Don’t Give Up on Giving’ challenges those of us a little seasonally jaded to hold on to the magic of real presents. Hopefully there are product ads that drive shoppers to stores more directly. 4/5

NW: KST fits, Sam Fender singing the Stones is great and there is some knowingly undersold scripting. The cynics point to spoilt kids and toys-from-yesteryear not cutting it, which will be familiar to many. 4/5

Argos

Total score: 13

Comedian Richard Ayoade is educated by animated Argos characters Connie and Trevor – voiced by Charlie Cooper and Ruth Bratt – after he calls the retailer a “toy shop”.

HC: You can see the focus group behind the ad, and that isn’t a bad thing. It brings nostalgia, humour and relies heavily on Ayoade’s personality. It’s harmless, seasonal and delivers the message. And it could also deliver new customers in new categories. 3/5

RM: Even though Argos is still flogging the ‘more than just toys’ line – which suggests that all of the previous ‘more than just toys’ campaigns failed to get the message across – this is immensely likeable, almost wholly because of the character of Ayoade. Well written and true to character throughout, it bears repeat viewing. 4/5

RS: This sticks with the strategy that has played out well in recent years: we need to challenge shopper perception and remind them Argos isn’t just for toys. But in the absence of a new insight, and as much as this is a well-made and witty film, it feels the idea is simply “Richard Ayoade”. I would have loved something as distinctive as the talent delivering it. 3/5

NW: “We’re more than toys,” every Argos CMO ever has seemingly said. This does a better job than most of reminding us (again) and is comfortably the best of the questionable Connie & Trevor series so far. Ayoade is surely approaching National Treasure status. Bit of a rinse & repeat? 3/5