The Season of Soundtracks: Music Shapes the Magic of Christmas

The Commercial Power of Music

While topping the charts may not be a priority for many brands during Christmas, achieving short-term sales and long-term commercial success certainly is. As highlighted by Orlando Wood, System1’s Chief Innovation Officer, in his books Lemon and Look out, familiar music with a discernible melody significantly enhances emotional engagement and attention, driving long-term success in the market. Wood’s research with the IPA reveals that, despite the importance of melodic music for sustained brand growth, its presence has been declining as brands increasingly favour highly rhythmic soundtracks, which offer limited brand-building potential.

Music is powerful not only because it resonates culturally but also because it engages the emotional right side of our brains. This emotional engagement informs our System 1 decision-making and ultimately influences our purchasing choices—the more we feel, the more we buy. It’s no surprise that Wood’s findings from the IPA database indicate that advertisements featuring music achieve, on average, a 60% increase in significant business effects compared to non-musical ads.

A recent study titled “Earning Attention” by Thinkbox, Dr Ali Goode, and ITV further highlights the importance of sound and recall in advertising. When distracted—whether in conversation or engaging with an electronic device—20% more people remembered what they heard compared to what they saw. So, while topping the Christmas charts may seem trivial compared to driving tangible business effects, consider this: if every time that song is played, listeners also think of your brand, that’s incredibly powerful. Audio and visual elements work hand in hand to deliver market impact, making the choice of soundtrack equally important. For instance, layering heavy metal over a family-friendly Christmas ad is far less sensical than enlisting the warming notes of Michael Bublé.

A simple yet powerful way to find the perfect soundtrack for your next campaign is by pre-testing multiple options with System1’s Test Your Ad tool. This method helps identify the track that resonates most effectively with your audience. Recently, we ran an experiment using this approach, testing the same ad with three different soundtracks. The results? One version scored 3 stars, another hit 4 stars, and, finally, we found a chart-topping 5-star winner. The right soundtrack can dramatically shift the tone of a narrative—what feels sombre and slow with one track can become upbeat and positive with another. Music has the power to transform the entire ad experience. Ready to see this in action? Let’s tune in!

Now That’s What System1 Call Christmas: The Top 10 Biggest Hits  

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.

#10 MINI Cooper’s ‘Driving Home for Christmas’, a Heartfelt Holiday Journey

Rounding out the top 10 is a true holiday classic: Driving Home for Christmas. This cherished song, famously written in a MINI on Christmas Eve of 1978, sets the perfect tone for MINI Cooper’s unforgettable holiday ad, earning an impressive 4.3 Star Rating in December 2021. Outperforming the car ad category’s average of 2.5-Stars, the campaign ranked among the top 10 car ads in System1’s Premium database and remains a standout in our Shifting Gears auto category guide.

The ad’s success lies in its authentic storytelling, emotional depth, and seamless blend of narrative, characters, and soundtrack. It captures the heart of the holiday season as audiences watch families, friends, and individuals make the journey home. The magic of this ad is in its relatability: real footage of real people packing up their MINIs with gifts, overcoming travel hurdles, and sharing moments of joy. It’s a snapshot of Christmas that resonates deeply with viewers.

The MINI Cooper isn’t just a vehicle in this ad—it’s a symbol of connection, of making it home in time to celebrate with loved ones. While the MINI shines, it’s the human experience at the forefront: characters with agency, unfolding scenes, and a strong sense of place, all key drivers of long-term emotional engagement identified by Orlando Wood. This campaign brilliantly uses the MINI as the catalyst for holiday reunions, bringing warmth and joy to screens and homes alike.

Not just a MINI moment, but a well-deserved big round of applause for a holiday campaign that truly drives home the spirit of Christmas.

#9 TUI Elves Live Happy with ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ 

In true TUI style, 2023 marked a festive milestone for the travel company with its debut Christmas campaign. Staying true to their slogan, “Live Happy,” they created a holiday ad that was nothing short of joyful. Set to Ricky Martin’s upbeat classic “Livin’ La Vida Loca” (which fittingly means “the crazy life”), the ad shows Santa’s elves trading in the North Pole for a tropical escape. Declining calls from St. Nick, they lounge by the pool with piña coladas and dance the night away—reminding us that even the busiest helpers need a break.

TUI’s campaign stands out in the competitive travel industry, where beautiful scenery and New Year campaigns are the norm. By airing in December and using humour to highlight the joy of travel, TUI brought a refreshing twist to the category. This approach clearly resonated with audiences, earning the ad an impressive 5.6 Star Rating on System1’s database. TUI showed that stepping away from Christmas tradition can deliver real impact. It’s enough to make anyone want to set their OOO and start packing!

#8 The Digital Power of Music – Lidl’s ‘Save Another Way’ Reboot    

One of my favourite recent ads, achieving an impressive 3.3 Star Rating (well above the digital average of 1.6-Stars), is a nostalgic yet playful campaign by UK supermarket brand Lidl. This digital ad, featuring the 90s band East 17, cleverly repurposes their 1994 Christmas number one hit “Stay Another Day” to highlight Lidl’s commitment to low prices. With its cheeky, seemingly low-budget production, the ad captured attention across digital platforms, blending humour with nostalgia.

What makes this ad so memorable is its masterful use of music as a cross-generational engagement tool. Although East 17 might not spark recognition among many young TikTok and Instagram users, the song itself resonates beyond its original era, creating a cultural connection that even Gen Z (myself included) can appreciate. After all, for many of us, our parents’ music shaped our childhoods, introducing us to classics that feel like part of our own memories. Lidl’s ad taps into this phenomenon, proving once again that music has a unique power to bridge generations and evoke broad, positive emotions like joy and nostalgia.

Brands often overlook the deep emotional resonance that familiar music can bring, yet it’s precisely this approach that enables Lidl’s campaign to stand out. The ad is a reminder that the right soundtrack can transcend time, connecting us all over a shared love of music that brings us back—even if just for a moment—to cherished memories.

#7 How ‘In My Life’ Helped Amazon Top the Global Charts 

In our 2023 annual Christmas webinar, where we share strategies for holiday success with brands and agencies, we were thrilled to have Ed Smith, GM of Marketing at Amazon, as a guest speaker. Ed shared insights into Amazon’s 5.9-Star ad campaign, which became a Top 10 chart-topper in both the UK and US, and featured The Beatles classic In My Life. He discussed how Amazon’s creative team selected this iconic track for the emotional depth it brought to the ad’s narrative, highlighting the theme of the everyday hero. The song didn’t just complement the story arc; it helped shape one of the most effective Christmas ads in recent history.

Amazon’s team deeply understands how music can set the tone of a story, but they also appreciate music’s universal appeal. Given that this campaign was designed to reach audiences worldwide, choosing a soundtrack that resonated across cultures was crucial. In selecting In My Life, Amazon tapped into music as a global language, crafting a campaign that connected with diverse markets and reinforced the shared spirit of the season. This ad is a powerful example of how, when carefully chosen, music can become the heartbeat of a brand narrative, uniting people through a shared emotional experience.

“Paul McCartney sent the creative team a note, saying ‘This is why we licence this music.’” – Ed Smith, GM Marketing, Amazon

#6 Maximising this Power of Music as a Brand Tool with Smyth’s ‘If I Were a Toy’

Smyths Toys has truly mastered the art of making their brand unforgettable. Just start singing the lines “If I were a toy,” and chances are, 9 out of 10 people will immediately recall this catchy reimagining from Smyths. In a clever twist, the toy retailer reworked Beyoncé’s 2008 hit If I Were a Boy to perfectly reflect their brand, creating a memorable and instantly recognisable tune.

This strategic move paid off, earning the ad a solid 4.5 Star Rating and achieving an impressive 99% ad recall rate for Smyths. It’s a brilliant example of how audio can embed a brand in people’s minds. Jingles might not be as ‘trendy’ as they once were in adland, but they absolutely should be! Our work with Radiocentre on “Listen Up!” delves into the impactful influence of jingles on brand recognition, making it a no-brainer for marketers. One thing’s for sure: if I were a brand, even just for one day, I’d invest in a jingle—and laugh my way to payday!

#5 Simple Soundtracks do it Best, with Hershey’s Christmas Bell Chime

Since 1989, Hershey’s Kisses have embedded the familiar ding dong of their “Christmas Bells” holiday campaign into the minds of US audiences. This clever play on their bell-shaped product casts Hershey’s Kisses as the chime’s protagonist, lending itself beautifully to brand recognition and emotional resonance.

In a recent study with the IPA, titled Compound Creativity, System1’s Andrew Tindall explored the emotional, long-term commercial power of consistency, and this ad is a testament to that insight. Despite being only 12 seconds long, it consistently achieves 5-Stars—demonstrating the power of familiarity in sparking positive feelings.

Music taps into our inherent love for the familiar, which explains why we’re often drawn to an 80s classic or find ourselves unconsciously humming along to a familiar tune on TV or the radio. Popular music, for example, owes much of its appeal to the fact that most songs follow similar rhythmic patterns—making them easy to catch onto, remember, and enjoy. Hershey’s Christmas Bells campaign is a perfect example of how brands can leverage these principles to create ads that resonate deeply, building long-term positive associations and brand loyalty.

#3 Would it be a Christmas Ad-Album Without Coca-Cola’s ‘Holidays Are Coming’?

Since 1995, Coca-Cola has arguably been the backbone of Christmas advertising with its iconic Holidays Are Coming campaign—a campaign so deeply woven into our cultural view of Christmas that many believe Santa’s red-and-white look originated with Coca-Cola. While I can’t confirm that legend, I can say with confidence that consumers show no signs of tiring of the Holidays Are Coming visuals and soundtrack. For many households, those first bell chimes mark the true start of the Christmas season! 

Year after year, we’ve tested this campaign, and the results just keep getting stronger, achieving the maximum 5.9 Star Rating in 2023. The familiar chimes set the stage as the Coke trucks roll through, lighting up the streets with Coca-Cola’s festive cheer. It’s a simple soundtrack, but its consistent use over the years has embedded it in the heartwarming spirit and tradition of Christmas. Like Bing Crosby, this classic re-enters the charts each season! 

#2 Irn-Bru Earn Number Two With a ‘Walking in the Air’ Christmas Classic

In the number two spot, we have another Christmas classic: Irn-Bru’s The Snowman, which first aired in 2006. This beautifully animated ad pays homage to the 1982 film, itself an adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ beloved 1978 picture book. Taking something so deeply embedded in Christmas culture and turning it into a brand-building tool was a brilliant move by Irn-Bru, which reinterpreted the classic with its signature comedic twist, perfectly aligning with the brand’s broader marketing strategy.  

#1 ‘Real Love’ Tops the Christmas Charts with John Lewis’s Monty the Penguin 

At the top of our Christmas chart is arguably one of the most beautiful and timeless Christmas ads of all time—and certainly one of the most memorable for many—John Lewis’s Monty the Penguin, featuring Tom Odell’s cover of Real Love. This stunning rendition of John Lennon’s beloved song earned John Lewis an exceptional 5.3 Star Rating and even cracked the UK Christmas charts at number 7, highlighting the powerful cultural impact of music in advertising. 

Tom Odell was the perfect choice for this ad, with his soft chords and unique sound blending seamlessly with the narrative. The campaign is slow yet uplifting, tapping into the generosity and love that defines Christmas, and it resonates with a broad audience. Odell’s version turned an already popular song into one that now carries additional layers of meaning, becoming a symbol of nostalgia and the warm, joyful spirit of Christmas. 

It’s Never Too Early for Christmas Music

As Christmas ads begin to roll out throughout November and the holiday gift rush kicks in, we’ve created a playlist to help you unwind: NOW That’s What I Call a System1 Playlist. We’ve gathered some of the most memorable and iconic songs from Christmas advertising to showcase the emotional and impactful role music plays in shaping these campaigns. As you hit shuffle, see if you can recall these adland classics and match them to the right brand. Enjoy!