Battle of the Christmas Ads 2025

It’s Christmastime…nearly. A time of joy, cheer, and advertisers trying to emotionally manipulate you into buying things you don’t need. Yayyyy.

So yep, you guessed it. Welcome to the ONLY review you need of 2025’s Christmas Ads. Where we dissect the season’s big-budget efforts and deliver our very own Pistachio-approved take.

So, let’s dive straight in…

One can only imagine the 12 months of uncontrollable anxiety that JL’s creative team go through trying to maintain the top spot for the Xmas tearjerker. Now, the jury’s still out on whether 2012’s the Power of Love snow-couple phenomenon can ever be topped. But what we do know is, they sure do always pick a BANGER to go with the advert.

Watch here. 

This year is no exception. A 90s-inspired slow-burn full of subtle sentiment, questionable family tension, and a final act of gift-giving redemption. The soundtrack? A dreamy piano cover of Alison Limerick’s Where Love Lives. The message? Erm, allegedly it’s ‘if you can’t say it, wrap it’ but we’ve gotta be honest, it’s giving ‘I hate my boring family life and I really wish I was still a raver, but oh wait here’s my teenage son I haven’t had a proper conversation with in 15 years, I better hug him.’ Either way, the TikTok analyses are pouring in. And in this digital age, perhaps that’s all that matters?

Predictably kinda nice. Slick, sentimental, and beautifully shot – but we miss the chaos. Would it kill them to throw in a little soap opera hammy acting? A stolen pudding? A feral cousin?

The comforting nod to the awkwardness of family life. And the teenage son’s acting. Give that guy a Quality Street.

In what feels like a wonderfully nostalgic Pixar short, Sainsbury’s bring us a beautifully animated battle between our fave hero, the BFG, and his culinary nemesis: the Greedy Giant. There are Brussel sprouts, there is faux strife, and there is gravy-based glory.

Watch here. 

A clever, joyful twist on festive storytelling, with an excellent blend of animation and real life.  The visuals are engaging, the message is warm, and the BFG is serving gentle giant goals. What’s not to love?

The Greedy Giant being defeated by a team effort. Yes, it’s about food, but it’s also about community (and stuffing).

Jennifer Saunders invites a bunch of celebrities over for Christmas dinner in a high-gloss ad that’s 1000000000% British showbiz HUNNAY. Naomi Campbell? There. Ncuti Gatwa? There. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley? In couture. Son Heung-min? Serving (literally). Do we want an invite? Yes, JENNIFER PLEASEEEEEE.

Watch here. 

Stunning? Yes. Emotionally moving? Not quite, especially in the current economic climate. But if you’re going to lean into luxury, you may as well do it with the crème of UK talent and a knowing wink from Ab Fab alumni.

Jennifer and Ncuti slow dancing in the window at the end, takes us back to a simpler, romcom-powered time

LEGO’s 2025 Christmas ad is a wonderfully chaotic burst of joy – and a not-so-subtle reminder that creativity might just be the greatest gift of all. We follow a disillusioned boy (clearly one TikTok away from full teenage angst) who rediscovers his spark when his LEGO builds come to life. Cue minifigs in wigs, toy dinosaurs breakdancing, and a saxophone solo that honestly deserves its own IMDB credit. It’s about rediscovering the art of play, and it’s got us right in the feels.

Watch here.

Uplifting, nostalgic, and very on-brand. LEGO walks the line perfectly between emotional storytelling and pure fun. It avoids the over-sentimentality trap by leaning into chaos, and it works.

The tiny Elton-esque minifig cameo. We didn’t know we needed it, but we absolutely did. Plus, an honourable mention to the dancing croissant.

We couldn’t complete the 2025 run-down without a look at what lil’ Kev is up to, could we? Aldi is pulling out all the stops to celebrate 10 years of Kevin the Carrot with a full-blown mini-movie that’s dropping in instalments. The gist? Kevin is finally making an honest root vegetable of longtime love Katie. Cute.

Watch here. 

Kevin always delivers. And somehow Aldi keeps finding new ways to keep him fresh. Hats off to Aldi and their entire comms team tbh, their socials have us *cry face emoji* lolling 365 days a year. Kevin always delivers.

The dialogue and cinematic scope, it’s giving big-budget for realz.

Once again, the big brands came out swinging with emotion, spectacle, and the annual fight to make you cry into your stuffing. We’re seeing some fresh takes (hi LEGO) alongside the usual mood-lighting suspects (hi John Lewis).

The winner? That depends on whether you prefer fashion, food, or talking carrots. We’ll take a little bit of all three if you don’t mind, and an extra dollop of stuffing.

Got a campaign idea you want to bring to life (with or without a root vegetable lead)? Let’s talk.