Supermarket Christmas Adverts of 2024: Unwrapped!
The 2024 Christmas adverts from UK supermarkets like Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury’s utilise a blend of psychological heuristics and behavioural norms to resonate with audiences emotionally and socially, enhancing the holiday magic while appealing to shoppers’ values and memories.
1. Sainsbury’s
Featuring a beloved cultural character, the BFG, the ad leans into nostalgia and familiarity heuristics. By connecting to a cherished childhood story, Sainsbury’s taps into positive associations from the past, creating a feel-good effect that encourages trust and comfort. The storyline of giving back also plays on the norm of altruism during the holidays, and features a real-life supermarket worker, Sophie.
2. Morrisons
The ad brings back its popular singing oven gloves, which now perform “Give a Little Love.” This leverages the mere exposure effect, where familiar elements become endearing over time. Using the theory of ‘compound creativity’ and familiarity bias, the return of these characters builds on established audience fondness. The cheerful gloves act as mascots to lighten the pressures of holiday hosting, and also uses anthropomorphism – assigning human qualities to inanimate objects – which can create a playful bond with the audience.
3. Tesco
Tesco’s advert about “Feeding Your Christmas Spirit’, is another one tapping into nostalgia to evoke warm memories of traditions like building gingerbread houses, while the familiarity bias reinforces comforting Christmas staples. The ad fosters togetherness with community-focused storytelling and enhances engagement through anthropomorphism, animating gingerbread characters with playful charm to strengthen the emotional bond with the brand.
4. Aldi
Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot character was first brought to life in 2016 so his return now continues to foster emotional connections, while the nostalgia bias evokes holiday traditions. The adventure story focuses on community and goodwill to promote social proof, aligning Aldi with values of togetherness and giving, reinforcing its brand identity.
5. Lidl
Lidl’s ad blends nostalgia and humour by mimicking an iconic Christmas ad from a famous drinks brand. By tapping into the familiarity of a beloved festive symbol, Lidl brings a smile to viewers’ faces while showcasing its commitment to quality and value. The clever parody evokes warm holiday memories while delivering Lidl’s message: you don’t need to spend big to feel the Christmas cheer. It signals humour and self-awareness, increasing viewer engagement and making the ad more shareable.
Each of these supermarket ads leverages emotional cues, whether through nostalgia, humour, or familiarity, and appeals to behavioural norms that are heightened during the festive season – such as giving, hosting, and celebrating – effectively combining these to enhance viewer engagement and strengthen brand loyalty.
