Every year, starting in mid-November, the advertising industry starts to showcase the ads created for the holiday season, which also serves as an unofficial award season for advertising, during which brands are judged based on their ability to best stir up (or should we say, tear up?) the emotions of consumers.
As measuring emotion is what we do, at Mediaprobe we decided to test the emotional impact of the ads launched for Christmas across three markets – US, UK, and Portugal – to see which ones struck a chord with the audience and delivered an effective emotional boost to the brands.
We tested dozens of holiday ads across the three markets, collecting thousands of data points of physiological and conscious dial responses from hundreds of our panelists, to create a ranking with the Top 5 ads for each market to share with you.
We start today with our Top 5 US Christmas ads of 2023 (Part 1), and we’ll continue through the next few days with the rankings for both the UK (Part 2) and Portugal (Part 3).
Top 5 US Christmas Ads 2023
5. Kroger: Magic happens when we bring new traditions to the table
We start our countdown with Kroger’s emotional animated ad that shows the power of food as a cultural connector and building block for new memories and new families. What started as receiving a single exchange student has become a family tradition of receiving people from everywhere, powered by Kroger’s.
Video: Magic happens when we bring new traditions to the table
4. DoorDash: Everyday Miracles
Doordash reminds everyone that for everyday miracles that depend on quick delivery, people can count on them. For big holiday miracles, you’ll need the help of some magically strong reindeer. Our viewers agreed, putting DoorDash at number 4 in our ranking.
Video: DoorDash Holiday 2023 – Everyday Miracles :60
3. Amazon: Joy Ride
It’s not an easy feat to create a powerful ad where no words are spoken, but Amazon managed to do just that. Nostalgia is always a big theme in Christmas ads, and in Joy Ride, the retail giant managed to imbue it with joy, and a little pun on that age is nothing more than a state of mind.
Video: Joy Ride | Amazon Christmas Ad
2. Kohl’s – Find Gifts, Deals and Holiday Feels
Sometimes a plain, simple ad is the best solution. Kohl’s went just for that, opting to show the result – happiness – of buying gifts at the brand’s store for your loved ones with a piece of upbeat music to set the tune. Simple, yet effective.
Video: Find Gifts, Deals and Holiday Feels | Kohl’s
1. Capital One – Holiday Night Fever
Famous Hollywood actor playing Santa? Check.
An upbeat, nostalgia-inducing song? Check.
Jokes and Christmas magic all around? Check.
The product as the faithful sidekick? Check.
Capital One “Holiday Night Fever” has it all and mixed it up in a flawless combination to produce the most engaging Christmas ad this year in the US. John Travolta as Santa Claus on a shopping spree and distributing magic and holiday joy at the sound of Bee Gees. What could go wrong? Absolutely nothing, according to our viewers.
Video: Quicksilver “Holiday Night Fever” :60 | Capital One
BONUS VIDEO
Curious about the viewers’ real-time reactions to the top ad? Check out the recreation of the Emotional Timeline (Biometrics and Dial) of the ‘Holiday Night Fever’ ad from Mediaprobe’s analytics platform.
Did your ad make the top 5? Contact us to find out how you can leverage emotional impact to boost advertising effectiveness.
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