Leeds-based 75Media has analysed the last 10 years of Christmas adverts, and concluded that 2023 is the year with the highest use of celebrities in holiday campaigns among major retailers.
Its comprehensive review, covering 18 leading retailers, showcases a significant shift in advertising strategies, marking 2023 as the year when celebrities dominated Christmas adverts.
The analysis revealed a striking increase in celebrity appearances in Christmas adverts, with 50% of top retailers featuring celebrities in 2023, compared to just 28% in 2022, 22% in 2021 and a mere 11% in 2020.
Major supermarkets like M&S, Asda, Waitrose, and Sainsbury’s have prominently featured celebrities this year. Graham Norton is the first celebrity to feature in a Waitrose Christmas advert and Sainsbury’s has continued its three-year celebrity streak by featuring Rick Astley in 2023.
M&S Food leads the pack, consistently featuring celebrities over the past five years, including UK favourites like Olivia Colman, Tom Holland, Tom Hardy. This year’s additions include Ryan Reynolds, Peter Crouch, and Rob McElhenney.
JD Sports has made its mark by featuring celebrities in its 2023, 2021, 2020 and 2019 Christmas adverts. This year its ad featured an array of rappers including Kano and Central Cee as well as football star Ella Toone.
Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham has mas made a rare double Christmas ad appearance this year, starring in both M&S and Bailey’s Christmas adverts and earning her 75Media’s title of ‘Celeb of the Year’. Dawn French won 75Media’s title of ‘Queen of Christmas Ads,’ having been a staple in M&S adverts for the last three consecutive years as voice of the much-loved Christmas Fairy. Alison Hammond is a rising retail favourite – she’s featured in this year’s Debenhams advert, made her Christmas debut last year as Countess Hammond in Sainsbury’s 2022 advert, and is also voicing the latest Wren Kitchens campaign.
When 75Media examined the search volumes for Sainsbury’s and Asda it appeared that the years with the highest search interest often correlated with those featuring celebrity endorsements.
There was one notable deviation in 2020, for Sainsbury’s. Its ‘Gravy Song’ campaign that year, featuring dance group Diversity and referencing the Black Lives Matter movement, triggered social media warriors who accused the supermarket of racism against white people and gave the supermarket a viral smash hit in the process.
The storm even saw a rare moment of inter-supermarket festive unity as Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose ran their adverts back-to-back during two primetime slots on Channel 4 on a Friday evening that year, with the hashtag #StandAgainstRacism. Normally, competitors actively avoid airing their ads close together.
Katy Conway, 75Media’s marketing and communications director, said: “2023’s spike in celebrity-driven Christmas adverts is a fascinating development in the retail world. Our analysis shows a clear shift towards using star power to capture audience attention. Retailers are recognizing the value of celebrity appeal in their campaigns, which is reshaping the traditional Christmas advert narrative.”
As retailers increasingly opt for star power over traditional heartwarming stories and lovable characters that we’ve become accustomed to from the likes of John Lewis, questions arise about the effectiveness of this strategy. Are celebrities overshadowing the essence of Christmas adverts, or do they offer a new dimension of engagement, familiarity and excitement for the audience?
