The Psychology Behind Loving (And Hating) Christmas Ads

Big news for fellow Christmas lovers: today, John Lewis launched its iconic (and much-anticipated) festive ad. This year’s tear-jerker features a dad and son who have grown apart, but are brought back together by the holidays (and a 10/10 gift). Previously, mascots from the store like Snapper the venus flytrap, Edgar the dragon and Moz the monster kept viewers engaged. But isn’t it a little odd that some of us get so excited for these adverts? And why do some – like Coca-Cola’s current AI-generated ad, which has faced significant backlash – make us feel so let down? Why do we care about Christmas ads? On Cranfield’s School of Management’s site, Dr Annmarie Hanlon, a senior lecturer in Digital and Social Media Marketing, said part of the appeal is plain-old ritual. Like picking a Christmas tree, she argued, the adverts have become part and (teehee) parcel of the season. But, she added, the yearly wait for certain brands’ ad drops is relatively new (John Lewis only began doing their now-famous ads in 2007). “Everything changed when they moved into storytelling,” she claimed. Take that first 2007 ad, which was made by the creator of The Greatest Showman and featured people creating the image of a woman and her dog with their shadows. Professor Jeanette Littlemore, from the Department of English Language and Linguistics at the University of Birmingham, agreed that a more subtle, less head-on approach is key to appealing Christmas ads. It’s not just about blatantly pushing specific products, the professor argued. “People don’t like to be told what to think,” she wrote, noting this approach can be seen as “patronising and boring”. In contrast, with the latest iteration of ads, “the viewer is invited to fill in the gaps for themselves”. Additionally, because we feel familiar with the format of a Christmas advert by now, “we know that a Christmas advert must, by definition, have a happy ending”, but the viewer is still left questioning how it might end. A sense of universality, sometimes achieved through mascots or broad themes like parenthood, can help too, Professor Littlemore added. Why do people dislike some Christmas ads? The response to this year’s John Lewis ad seems pretty positive – commenters on YouTube wrote things like “thank you for going back to your ad roots of simple human stories of love and connection” and “this is just so lovely. Nothing complicated, or over the top, or phoney, or fake”. Not so, I’m afraid, with Coca-Cola’s AI-generated advert, in which various animated animals stare in joy and wonder at the brand’s iconic Christmas lorries before a machine-generated Santa waves cheerfully at them. Some have called it “slop”, while others opined that it “looks horrendous”. Coca-Cola’s head of generative AI told The Hollywood Reporter that “consumer engagement was very high” on last year’s ad, which was also AI-generated. Noting “some parts of the industry were not pleased” with the advert, they added: “We understand that concern. But we need to keep moving forward and pushing the envelope. The genie is out of the bottle, and you’re not going to put it back in.” Dr Hanlon noted Christmas ads should reflect the mood of the times – but sometimes they can miss the mark. A 2016 Buster the Boxer ad, for instance, took some heat after its launch. Some felt it was a Trump allegory or a reference to Brexit, which was not exactly the pick-me-up many felt they needed after a trying year. For Dr Hanlon’s part, she didn’t like John Lewis’ 2020 offering as she felt it looked “like it might have been made at a time when you didn’t have to wear a mask on public transport”. As frustration with AI “slop” mounts and fears of AI-related job losses grow, Coca-Cola’s latest offering seems to have missed a similar mark.