Top Christmas adverts of 2020

It's that time of year again. Advent has started, decorations are being put up and coffee shops are competing to sell ridiculously sugary drinks in the name of Christmas.

With many people still in some form of lockdown, the Christmas traditions we can enjoy at home are more important than ever. What could signal the beginning of the holiday season any better than a round-up of the best TV Christmas adverts of this year?

The John Lewis Christmas advert has become a national institution. Every year people wait with bated breath to see their new concept and, more importantly, who will be singing the cover song. This year, John Lewis have outdone themselves with an original song by Celeste called ‘A Little Love’. The song feels almost familiar with its light melody and soulful vocals, reminiscent of those songs that have come before it. Combined with a cyclical story of love and acceptance which features both animated and real-life characters, John Lewis have managed once again to leave viewers feeling warm and emotional.

Due to Covid-19, animation is a big theme across Christmas adverts this year. The McDonalds advert packs an emotional punch through an animated story of a mother and son regaining the relationship they had before the son grew into a withdrawn teenager. Familial themes are often prevalent in Christmas adverts, but McDonalds have nailed it with a simple but relatable storyline that perfectly depicts the magical ability of Christmas to bring people together.

Lidl have taken a different approach in eschewing sentimentality in favour of humour and shameless competition. They have created a funny advert which takes down one of their rivals by showing a fork skewering a carrot with a face (the chosen mascot for the Aldi Christmas advert). Their products take centre stage and are accompanied by a matter-of-fact soundtrack which focusses solely on their prices. This straight-forward approach is a breath of fresh air given the emotional style used by so many companies this year.

Of course, we can’t talk about 2020 Christmas adverts without mentioning Sainsbury’s. Their advert uses home footage and a phone conversation between a father and daughter to tell the story of a family wanting to be reunited for Christmas. The heartfelt and personal advert is relatable to so many who are having similar conversations with their families in the run up to Christmas this year.

However, it made headlines as it provoked racist comments from people who took issue with a black family being the focus of the piece. Sainsbury’s handled the situation well by standing by their casting decisions and the negative reactions have only served to give Sainsbury’s more publicity this year. The reactions have also made the advert more poignant given that this year has seen matters of race equality at the forefront of British politics. It is important though to appreciate what the advert was intended to portray before the controversy – a beautiful story of families desperately wanting to be together at Christmas.

Edited by Hannah Youds