2023 Christmas commercials: mediocrity, craftsmanship, clichés and sometimes... brilliance

Disney connects their Christmas campaign to their new movie, Wish (making the link to Make a wish). Surprise: Disney doesn’t go for animation for the first time in years! Lots of diversity, beautiful song. But I don’t understand it. Might just be just me.

Dawn French is back as a fairy for M&S Food. But more importantly... the heroes of Wrexham FC (oh yes, and Hollywood stars) Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney also play a role. Like mittens on a string. And that is indeed as great as it sounds. And for the rest: Well made, funny and entertaining.

John Lewis, the king of the Christmas commercials. The question is the same every year. Is it any good? Well, to be honest... I don't like it. It's creative, absolutely. There's a twist to it. A beautiful message about making your own traditions and growing new traditions ('When you make traditions your own, they are more special'). But a carnivorous plant? And Andrea Bocelli? It just doesn’t do it for me though. And that's strange, because I'm always calling for creativity and boundary pushing, but it’s all-in the execution, and this is not it... It's well made (the first from Saatchi & Saatchi for John Lewis), but I don't get goosebumps and it doesn’t make me smile. No warmth anywhere. No real sense of Christmas. Surprising, but as far as I am concerned this is a failure.

Vodafone made a really nice commercial. Completely aligned with the brand, good casting, positive vibes. And with a light-hearted story: girl wants to 'catch' Santa Claus on camera, thanks to Vodafone's network that works of course. More than well done.

Familiar recipe for Lego. Grandma with Yoda doll steals the show. Again – this is just very well made.

Unwrap your story. That's Zalando's message this year. Everyone has multiple sides: what's your story? Simple, effective, completely aligned with the brand. Well done, without the bells and whistles.

Kind of in the same vein as Zalando, this commercial from Heathrow. Short story, no frills, nice message, and on brand. Hits the mark.

Eating (and therefore cooking) brings people together. Krogers' message. Delicious Christmas entertainment.

Hard-working, single nurse is surprised by teenage son with house full of Christmas decorations, thanks in part to Hobby Lobby (50% Off Christmas!). Sweet. Not bad. But not memorable.

Oh no! Rudolf's batteries are empty. That means no red nose. But luckily, the Duracell rabbit comes to the rescue. Nicely made, quite Christmassy.

Funny approach. Lovehoney (sex toys) uses customer experiences in their Christmas commercial. Between the lines, all kinds of things are said, but nothing is shown. Well done. Different.

Good animation, from IGA. Good narrative voice. Story is a bit too far-fetched (something with a beaver sharing food).

Instant tears watching the charity Shelter’s commercial. This one really hits home. Happy, excited girl. Christmas is coming. Helping others and being good in the hope of getting lots of gifts. And then... Christmas morning, she wakes up to nothing. Ouch.

Another one coming in, the commercial from the Canadian BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Sick children doing everything they can to be 'just' at home for Christmas. Help get us home.

Amazon has put (almost) everything I like into their Christmas commercial. Nostalgia, humour, just-a-little-bit-different-music-than-you-expect, good casting, emotion. Three elderly ladies go down the hill one last time on a sledge. Sledge is too hard: buy cushions from Amazon. Amusing. Light. Funny. Warm. Not too complicated.

Well-known Brits throw all the Christmas clichés in the bin For M&S Clothing & Home. With a brilliant campaign phrase: Love thismas (not thatmas). Other than that, nothing special (also because of the tortured rendition of the song Meatloaf made famous).

Beautifully made, Very's animation, including logo flamingos. Branding at its best. The nicest of them I've seen in years. But a Slade cover?  Really?

Is a raccoon Christmas? No, I don't think so. Lidl UK thinks so. The commercial is beautifully made, but that's the only thing. Everything else is just not quite there. Storyline, casting, animals, cuddly toy. Everything is just meh.

Nope, Christmas is very hard to find in the Sports Direct commercial. Just like last year, actually. Spot on brand communication. Good commercial in itself. But just not giving me any hint of Christmas feeling. I don't like it.

Oven gloves sing Starship song. Sounds lame. But it still works for Morrisons. A little. 33 seconds too long. And zero Christmas spirit. Did I mention it took too long?

Touching, that's the National Trust commercial. Well made but far from dazzling.

OK, not as good as last year, Ocean Spray. It’s weird and awkward and that's fine. Too bad they didn't top 2022.

Argos was so good last year! And how bad Argos is this year! Nice idea. But a good idea doesn't make a good commercial. Nothing happens. Yes, a doll dances. Filmed by a dinosaur. It just doesn't make any sense. Just like the whole commercial.

Dobbies and Christmas, I'm not a fan. Not this one either. Find your Christmust. Miss.

How unattractive this food looks. So unattractive, it's repulsive. The American Golden Corral (a buffet restaurant) has achieved at least one thing: I will never go there. And certainly not at Christmas.

So, Etsy's  is really cringe-inducingly bad. For these creatives, the Christmas feeling had clearly not yet resonated. By the way, there is a whole series of commercials. Worse.

Guess what? Aldi is doing it again this year with that gnawed carrot (Kevin the Carrot). Even more vague than in previous years. Even less funny. I'll quote myself: I'm so done with that carrot. Ok, ok, 2 positives: the animation is really very, very well made. And a nod to Willy Wonka is nice. (By the way... Aldi scores well in the other surveys, so who am I to judge?).

How nice, Kohl's fished the commercial out of a stock video archive this year. What a bucket of dullness. What are they thinking? How dare you release this?

The atmosphere is good at Waitrose. But the commercial itself? Neither meat nor fish. Party. Product plugs. An ok role for Graham Norton. And Depeche Mode is always plus one.

I was really looking forward to TK Maxx. Especially after last year. Still a bit of a let-down. Nicely made. A few jokes, but it doesn't really resonate. It just doesn’t land. The music does by the way (which has nothing to do with Christmas, so good choice).

Make this Christmas Incredibublé. Yep, it's Michael Bublé, in Asda's Christmas commercial. He checks all the food. Fortunately with a little self-mockery. At the end, he sings a line. Totally irrelevant this commercial. I suspect Michael needed money.

Paddington is out, Shaun the sheep is in. With the leading role in the Barbour commercial 2023 (and with the jacket, of course). I don't like that sheep... But great commercial otherwise. Animation craftsmanship from Aardman. Unfortunately, not very memorable.

The positive thing about  Bailey's is that it makes you want Bailey's. A forgettable Christmas commercial.

The best part of Smyth Toys' Christmas commercial  is the real life Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Commercial starts very much a dime a dozen, gradually it all improves a bit, but it never really gets spectacular or Christmassy.

Anya Taylor Joy is back for Dior. Again elusive, again beautifully made. But a lot flatter than last year, pushing products in your face. What a pity.

Also pushing products, but just a little differently (drone light show in the sky). Tight enough for Greggs because of the attempt to do something else. That's it.