Unwrapping Consumers Favorite US Ads of the Holiday Season
Every year it seems the holiday shopping season starts earlier, with brands showcasing ads that promote forthcoming sales, the latest products and even broader brand-building work. And each year, System1 tests the US holiday ads with real consumers to see which make the biggest emotional impact on audiences. As we know, the more people feel, the more they buy. And positive feelings are one of the keys to driving long-term growth for brands.
Making a List, Checking it Twice
So, we’ve rounded up a list of some early holiday favorites. As a reminder, the ads are rated in our Test Your Ad platform on a scale from 1-Star to 5.9-Stars, a measure predicting creative’s potential to drive long-term brand growth. In the case of Star Rating ties, we look at the Spike Rating, a predictive measure of the short-term sales potential of the ad in the next 8-10 weeks.
Overall, only 1% of ads land in the 5-Star range. But many brands save their best, most emotional work for Christmas and the wider holiday season, when 5-Star ads are more common.
Consumers’ favorites to date include:
- Hobby Lobby – “Pie” – 5.1 Stars
- Amazon – “Midnight Opus” – 4.9 Stars
- Hobby Lobby – “Neighbors” – 4.7 Stars
- Chex – “Mix Up Delicious Holiday Memories” – 4.6 Stars
- GAP – “Give your gift” – 4.6 Stars
- Chewy – “Coal, the holiday surprise” – 4.5 Stars
- Walmart – “Give the gifts that show you get them” – 4.2 Stars
- Target – “Happier Holidays” – 4.1 Stars
- Pillsbury – “Thankful” – 4.1 Stars
- Energizer – “Hoppy Holidays” – 4.1 Stars
The Gift of Great Creative
What creative features and themes are helping brands shine brightly? We’re presenting you with four effectiveness findings that can help you make entertaining work during the holidays and beyond.
#1 Get festive with brand-owned characters
This year, numerous brands are leveraging the effective ‘fluent device’ strategy to connect with audiences through familiar faces. This includes Pillsbury with the Doughboy, Target’s Bullseye and the Energizer Bunny. Meanwhile, Duracell introduced a new brand character, the ‘Duracell Scientist’ in its holiday ad to lend a helping hand to shoppers and Best Buy continues the use of its new hologram character ‘Gram.’
While some campaigns have opted instead for ‘hired devices’ or well-known celebrity spokespeople, the top standouts favor fluent devices. After all, we can’t all get Mariah Carey to appear in our holiday ad (though The Children’s Place did in 2023!).
#2 Music makes it merry
Soundtracks are a hit, and while you might be thinking that brands need a holiday hit to fit the mood of the season (cue the Mariah Carey?!), that’s not the case. Some of this year’s top ads have taken popular songs and woven them into their festive ads.
Amazon shines the spotlight on a theatre janitor who wows his colleagues with a rendition of “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” GAP’s choir delights with an acapella version of Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” and Target brings a modernized version of “Pure Imagination” to viewers.
Melodic music that you can easily sing or hum attracts the broad-beam attention of the right brain, making it an effective tool for building memory structures among a wider audience.
#3 Give thanks for storytelling
Another right-brained approach is to showcase narratives with a clear beginning, middle and end. People love stories and this year’s ads are delivering some memorable ones. Hobby Lobby delivers a masterclass in storytelling in both its Fall and Christmas ads, proving that simple ideas can win big. The first showcases a father and daughter as they each bake their own version of a holiday pie. The latter tells the sweet story of two neighbors swapping surprise crafts in their mailboxes, with an even sweeter surprise at the very end.
And coming in just shy of our top 10 early leaders ranking is Etsy, with an endearing narrative about Waldo and the importance of hand-crafted, personalized gift giving.
#4 Add a sprinkle of nostalgia & tradition
The holidays often conjure up warm memories of the past. They’re also a time when traditions play a big part in creating new memories. So perhaps it’s no surprise that advertisers are leaning into both of these elements.
In some cases, nostalgia can be brought through by using cultural references. Walmart’s ad focuses on the annual tradition of gift-giving while at the same time highlighting clips from well-known films and TV shows like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Spongebob Squarepants and The Simpsons. Chex leans into nostalgia and memories of holidays past thanks to the Peanuts characters (a long-time association with the brand) and a retro TV. Meanwhile, Pillsbury showcases the tradition of sharing what you’re thankful for over a Thanksgiving meal.
All have a cozy vibe and drive positive feelings from audiences, leading to ‘Strong’ or ‘Exceptional’ brand-building potential (as reported by our Spike Rating).
Create with Confidence
Want to see the full list of holiday ad rankings? Subscribe to Test Your Ad Premium, where we have a dedicated topical category filled with this year’s ads.