Aldi, Etsy, Sainsbury's, Asda and Debenhams: Jingle bells

The 2024 Christmas advertising battle has officially opened, with new campaigns featuring friendly giants, gnomes, vegetables and Liz Hurley, while others have regurgitated last year’s festive treats as the fight for seasonal spend begins.

First up is the chippy carrot, with Aldi‘s rambunctious root vegetable returning to save Christmas in a “dramatic” heist film, marking the ninth year that the discount chain has turned to Kevin to woo shoppers.

Created by McCann Manchester, the spot opens in a festive snowy village on Christmas Eve, but it soon transpires something is awry as a black and white van screeches into view. A series of humbug characters appear to capture the “Christmas Spirit” before zooming off leaving the once glowing village in darkness.

“Luckily”, Santa has Kevin on speed dial and wakes him to give him an assignment — break into the Humbug Headquarters and outsmart Dr Humbug and her humbug minions to get the Spirit of Christmas back.

Using disguises and a case with a “false bottom”, Kevin and his wife Katie avoid a series of dangerous situations and ‘booby traps’ to try to save the day. It all culminates with the humbugs having learned “Christmas is better when goodwill is returned”.

Next up is Etsy, which is channelling Where’s Wally? although it is called Where’s Waldo elsewhere in the world.

In the ad, which was created by Orchard, Waldo travels the world, being spotted everywhere he goes. But only when he returns home and receives a perfectly personalised Etsy gift from his best friend, does he finally feel ‘seen’.

Built on the cultural insight around people’s core desire to feel seen, the creative strategy apparently taps into the emotional magic of gifting on Etsy, and the feeling of receiving a gift that truly says, “I get you.”

An accompanying out-of-home campaign captures the moment of human connection when you give someone something truly special, featuring original gifts from Etsy sellers.

And then to Sainsbury’s, whose festive spot has been inspired by Roald Dahl’s BFG and opens with a towering, knobbly, black-and-white striped “snozzcumber”. Suddenly a cleaver comes in and chops it in half while, off-camera, a familiar voice is fantasising about much more pleasant alternatives, “Prawn Coat-tails, Beef Welly-boot, Wigs in Blankets”.

The camera zooms in on the BFG, surrounded by magical clutter in his secret cave lined with row upon row of dream jars. After a moment’s contemplation, he turns to the camera and asks, “Hey Sainsbury’s, how can we make this Christmas a bit more… phizz-whizzing?”.

A Sainsbury’s name badge labelled ‘Sophie’ appears. A colleague in a car park returns a trolley when a colossal sneeze blasts snowflakes and sets off car alarms. A towering figure emerges, and a mighty cloak is lowered to reveal the BFG crouching in the shadows behind the trolley park.

“BFG!” exclaims Sophie, “I hear you need our help”. There’s a brief pause as the BFG’s enormous fingers stretch out and unfurl onto the ground in front of her, “As a matter of fact, I does” he replies.

The ad cuts to the BFG and Sophie traveling in search of great tasting food, sourcing fresh produce from Sainsbury’s suppliers, including salmon, Brussels sprouts, and crumbly Stilton cheese.

The camera pans out to reveal a bountiful dining table in the BFG’s dream cave overflowing with delectable Taste the Difference and Sainsbury’s dishes, including a roasted Carrot Galette, a Smoked Salmon and Maple Terrine, and a delicious Golden Forest dessert.

The ad concludes as we see Sophie and the BFG wishing each other a Merry Christmas and Stephen Fry inviting customers to seek the retailer’s expertise, asking “Want to go big this Christmas? Ask Sainsbury’s. Good Food for all of us”.

Asda has also unveiled its new brand campaign, premiering across Asda’s social channels, before airing on TV later this week. The 90 second ad, created by Havas London, is set to the theme of The A Team and opens on two Asda staff, Maggie and Bill, staring out of a store into a huge snowstorm.

Maggie is visibly concerned; “every road is closed between here and Sheffield, how are we going to get the store ready for Christmas?”

Bill, with the benefit of experience, picks up a gnome and presses its nose – sending a signal to hundreds of gnomes across gardens, pub shelves and tower blocks nationwide, who answer the call for help.

When the team arrives at Maggie and Bill’s store, they immediately get to work creating treats in the kitchen, preparing gifts on shelves, and transforming the store into a Christmas wonderland, ready to help make this the UK’s greatest Christmas yet.

With the sun coming up, chief gnome Max, announces “It’s time to go gnome”. As the gnomes depart in Asda delivery vans, leaving a perfectly prepared store ready for Christmas. The film ends with Chris Rea’s festive classic, with the lyrics adapted to Driving Gnome for Christmas.

While TK Maxx and Very have opted to repeat last year’s ads, Debenhams is running a new campaign entitled “Duh, Debenhams”, created and produced by Exposure.

In a light-hearted take on the typical festive frenzy, the 30-second film showcases Debenhams.com as the ultimate destination to ease seasonal shopping stress.

It features an ensemble cast of British cultural icons, including actress Elizabeth Hurley, model and TV host Leomie Anderson, comedian Ellie Taylor, and presenter/podcaster Hannah Cooper-Dommett. Merging holiday sparkle with playful sass, the cast brings a fresh perspective to festive shopping dilemmas.

Each vignette is a juxtaposition from dreary, rainy skies to ‘festive zen’, and showcases relatable shopping challenges, accompanied with a mischievous wink and a nod. The accompanying soundtrack is a reimagined rendition of the classic ‘Carol of the Bells’, offering a playful twist on the melody that sings the campaign’s catchy tagline, ‘DUH.’

Launching on YouTube. it will also roll out across broadcast TV, out-of-home, VOD, digital, social media and press.

Tune back here for more Christmas ads this week…