Twitter's favourite Christmas Ads for 2016

November 16 2016

By @G_Parsons33

Published in Trends

It’s that time of year again - the Christmas ads are back.

Over the past two weeks we’ve seen a flurry of brands releasing their festive creations for 2016, and we used Visibrain to find out which ads have been getting the most attention on Twitter for the start of the Christmas season.

1. John Lewis - 219,512 tweets

No surprises here - John Lewis are in first place. After building up fans’ excitement with weeks of #bouncebounce teaser videos, Buster the Boxer and his acrobatic friends have racked up a whopping 219,000 tweets this month. The ad attracted over 120,000 tweets on the day of its release.

Tweet volumes for John Lewis' Christmas ad

The iconic department store teamed up with The Wildlife Trusts this year to bring us a considerably more lighthearted creation than last year’s “Man on the Moon”. Not everyone was pleased with the change in tone however:

As always, John Lewis is the one to beat when it comes to hype around its Christmas ad.

2. Marks and Spencer - 46,106 tweets

Marks and Spencer are in second place with their “Christmas with Love” ad, starring Mrs Claus. Over 46,129 tweets have mentioned the ad or the #LoveMrsClaus hashtag so far this month.

Tweets volumes for the Marks and Spencer Christmas ad

The idea of gifts bringing families together - along with a very glamorous and capable Mrs Claus - has been a big hit on Twitter so far, with many saying it beat John Lewis’ creation:

3. Sainsburys - 36,037 tweets

Sainsburys are up next with their very musical ad #ChristmasisforSharing, starring the voice of James Corden. The advert has over 36,044 tweets so far, and volumes are still rising.

Tweet volumes for the Sainsburys Christmas ad

The advert focuses on the importance of spending time with family at Christmas, which has attracted more than a few comments on Twitter about holidays for its staff:

4. Waitrose - 30,652 tweets

In fourth place is Waitrose with #HomeForChristmas, the story of a robin’s journey home. The touching ad has had over 30,000 mentions on Twitter this month.

Tweet volumes for the Waitrose Christmas ad

It failed to beat John Lewis in terms of mention volumes in spite of being hailed by many as the best Christmas ad so far.

5. Stop Funding Hate - 27,331 tweets

The Stop Funding Hate campaign has found a place among the most-retweeted Christmas ads thanks to their hijacking of the John Lewis Christmas ad. The movement brought a more solemn note to the festive bonanza with the #StopFundingHate hashtag, reminding people that tolerance is not just for Christmas:

The piece has been mentioned over 27,000 times this month:

Tweet volumes for the Stop Funding Hate campaign

The thought-inspiring ad certainly hit home on Twitter and has led to mounting pressure for brands to stop advertising with newspapers said to promote fear and division.

6. Aldi - 10,438 tweets

Aldi come in sixth place with their quirky #KevinTheCarrot ad. The campaign has been mentioned over 10,000 times on Twitter this month:

Tweet volumes for the Aldi Christmas ad

Bonus: #SantaForgot

Alzheimer’s Reasearch UK’s Christmas campaign #SantaForgot doesn’t quite fall into our scope as it was only released today, but certainly deserves a mention.

The TV spot airs for the first time this evening, but the ad has already made an impression on Twitter, with over 3,000 mentions so far today.

Looking for more data around this year’s Christmas ads?

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Published in Trends