The fashion and beauty retail Christmas adverts of 2020
As December approaches, Christmas advertising campaigns have continued to grow across TV, print and online.
Christmas adverts this year are less about designer Christmas tree's and more about family. COVID-19 has pushed many retailers into a fresher approach that is more reflective of where consumers are right now.
TheIndustry.fashion has created a roundup of the 2020 Christmas adverts in UK fashion and beauty retail.
Amazon - The Show Must Go On
This year Amazon’s Christmas advert features a unique arrangement of the song “The Show Must Go On” by Queen, following the trials of a young ballet dancer preparing for the role of a lifetime against the challenging backdrop of the current COVID-19 crisis.
Amazon VP of Global Creative, Simon Morris, said: “Our TV ad is inspired by, and pays tribute to, the unbeatable human spirit and the power of community that we have witnessed so often this year.”
ASDA - That's an Asda Price Christmas
Created by production company Hunky Dory, the advert also see the return of ASDA character Sunny and his family, who previously featured in the ASDA price re-launch and Halloween campaigns, stepping into the magic of Christmas preparations.
The advert showcases the supermarket's food offerings, gifts and George clothing.
Eilidh Macaskill, Vice President Creative and Media at ASDA, commented: “We loved working with Sunny and his family to bring our ASDA Price Christmas to life, showcasing the magic of Christmas at prices that all customers deserve.”
Boots - Help Fight Hygiene Poverty
Boots’ Christmas 2020 campaign this year is centred around acts of kindness, acknowledging how unexpected this year was.
The company announced a donation of £1 million worth of hygiene products to The Hygiene Bank, providing essential goods to millions of people across UK currently living in hygiene poverty.
It also uses the advert to encourage consumers to consider donating hygiene products this Christmas season.
Boden - Unwrap Glorious British Style
Boden launched its first festive TV campaign this year, showcasing its winter collection ahead of the Christmas season.
The brand has also created an animation called ‘It’s an extraordinary life’, which takes inspiration from the Christmas classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.
Created in partnership with London-based animation studio Animade, the film stars founder Johnnie Boden and his dog Spout who causes havoc before revealing he’s created a Christmas tree.
Burberry - Singing In The Rain
Burberry’s new Christmas advert features a rendition the classic song Singing in the Rain.
Produced by RiffRaff Films, the British retailer’s campaign showcases dancers in the street of London, all wearing Burberry's winter collection.
Barbour - Father Christmas To The Rescue
Heritage British outerwear brand Barbour launched its new “Father Christmas to the Rescue” animated film ad campaign, focusing on the brand’s South Shields jacket repair service.
For the second year running, Barbour’s Christmas ad is inspired by the popular children’s books written and illustrated by Raymond Briggs, and the iconic 1991 animated special Father Christmas.
The film follows a young boy whose dog has chewed his father’s beloved Barbour wax jacket.
Paul Wilkinson, Global Marketing and Commercial Director, Barbour said: “This is a very special Christmas campaign for us as it’s based on a true story from one of our customers. The film highlights how much our Barbour jackets are loved and become an important part of the family.
Debenhams - #Giftastic
For the first time in the brand’s history, Debenhams' Christmas campaign features and celebrates real families who reflect the diverse population in the UK.
Each family showcases what Christmas really means to them, how they celebrate and talk about how important gestures and gifts are at this time of year no matter how big or small.
The advertising campaign is accompanied by a series of profile videos with each family featured, discussing what they'll be gifting this year.
Disney Store - From Our Family To Yours
Disney has unveiled a heart-warming Christmas advert in support of children's charity Make-A-Wish.
The three-minute animated short featuring Mickey Mouse tells the story of grandmother, her granddaughter and the family traditions that have connected them through the years.
The advert features UK artist Griff, who sings the original song 'Love Is A Compass'. The charity track is available for sale with 100% of the proceeds donated to Make-A-Wish.
Freemans - Be More Festive
Recently relaunched home shopping retailer Freemans launched its first prime-time Christmas TV advertising campaign this year.
The upbeat ad is narrated by Downtown Abbey star, Joanne Froggatt and is backed by a Christmas remix of the song that launched its rebrand, Do It Like This.
JD Sports - #JDWonderland
This year, JD Sports has recruited some of its favourite celebrities and influencers to bring Christmas inspiration to its customers.
The advert features Everton midfielder Tom Davies, boxer Anthony Joshua, TV and radio presenter Maya Jama, and signer Rita Ora.
Telling the story of a young child standing outside of a JD Sports store, he is guided through a wonderland of footwear themed Christmas scenes before new shoes appear at his feet.
Joules - A Woodland Tale
British lifestyle brand Joules joined forces with its charity partner the Woodland Trust to educate its customers and give back to the environment this Christmas.
The short Christmas animation, titled ‘A Woodland Tale’, aims to raise awareness of the Woodland Trust, the need to give back to nature and to protect the endangered species who make an appearance in it.
Joules confirmed it will plant a tree with the Woodland Trust for every one of the festive edit’s 19 products sold during the Christmas period.
John Lewis - Give a Little More
This two-minute advert displays how acts of kindness, no matter the size, can positively impact and help the world.
Directed by the British director Oscar Hudson, the advert captures different moments of kindness through different scenes including animation, stop-motion and live-action footage.
Marks & Spencer - It's On.
Marks & Spencer’s 2020 Christmas advertising campaign features an all-star line up, with a large focus on it's food offerings.
The retailer said it would release a series of short adverts each week leading up to Christmas, and each featuring star-studded cast including Eddie Redmayne, Gillian Anderson, Dame Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, Dame Julie Walters and Holly Willoughby.
Willoughby features in the Marks & Spencer's knitwear advert, which can be seen below:
Matalan - It's a Matalan Christmas!
Matalan's Christmas 2020 advert showcases some of the festive activities and challenges millions look forward to each year; from picking the Christmas tree and struggling to get it in the car, losing the end of the Sellotape.
With a 2020 twist, it also features a virtual family gathering - something which has formed such a key part of celebrations this year.
The ad is part of its "Real Life Ready" campaign, which was launched in March 2020, using real Matalan customers to star in the advert instead of a celebrity line up.
NotOnTheHighStreet - Magic of Small Things
Excited faces, thoughtful gifts, cosy new PJs… it’s the small touches that make Christmas magical, according to NotOnTheHighStreet.
Small gestures and the warmth they bring are the key focus from NotOnTheHighStreet, showcasing all the retailers available on the online marketplace.
Sports Direct - Sports Starts Here
Sports Direct unveiled its first ever Christmas ad campaign this year, featuring a cameo from Liverpool FC captain Jordan Henderson, and showcasing the brand’s fresh new positioning and rebrand for 2021 and beyond.
Called "Sport Starts Here", the high-energy video is a musical celebration of sport and fitness, where we see a range of sports being choreographed in "a magical mashup".
The narrative begins with a young woman being asked what she would like for Christmas by her mum and her mind takes her on a trip where she explores all the sporting options from basketball to boxing, horse-riding to golf.
Tesco - No Naughty List
Created by production company Somesuch, Tesco's Christmas campaign aims to eke out the funny side of 2020, seeing Santa's naughty list banned.
The supermarket's advert shows various people confessing to naughty things they did in lockdown, such as forgetting to sing happy birthday whilst washing their hands.
The advert is accompanied by classic Britney Spears song Oops!... I Did It Again, as opposed to a traditional winter themed track.
TK Maxx - The Lil' Goat
TK Maxx were the first to launch a Christmas advert in 2020, titled 'The Lil' Goat'.
The 30-second ad features a beret-wearing goat, strutting across a snowy Welsh landscape in a stylish outfit. The advert pays reference to the pandemic, acknowledging the "very heard year".
Created by Wieden & Kennedy London, the adverting campaign will run in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Poland.
Very.co.uk - Christmas is this Very moment
Created by Grey London, Very.co.uk encourages consumers to embrace every single moment in the countdown to 25th December, as opposed to focusing on Christmas day.
The film sends the message that the best thing about Christmas is not just Christmas day but the combination of all the wonderfully festive moments in the build up.
Carly O'Brien, Chief Marketing Officer at The Very Group, said "It is great to see our new brand platform, ‘Life is this Very moment’, brought to life for Christmas with a truly uplifting campaign that we believe our customers can relate to. It’s honest, raw and captures what’s really special about the whole of the Christmas period, not just the day itself.
Zalando - We Will Hug Again
Co-created with Anomaly Berlin, Zalando's Christmas campaign will run across all 17 Zalando markets for next two months.
The film was shot across Nigeria, Vietnam, Italy, Mexico, Sweden and Germany by four directors. Each segment tells the story of one hug, united by a coherent look and feel.
The company said in a press release: "This holiday season, we bring the world closer together by celebrating human connection. Nobody really understood the power of a simple embrace until it was taken from us.
"In this evocative campaign we embrace the past and look to the future, celebrating the hug as a universal symbol of human connection and celebrate it as a symbol of hope, optimism and solidarity."
