Best Christmas adverts 2024: John Lewis and Tesco release tear-jerking stories

Joining them with the tear-jerkers is Tesco, who's story about missing a loved one at Christmas has set the nation crying.

There's been some lighter moments from Barbour (who recruited Shaun the Sheep), Morrison's (with their singing oven gloves) and Sainsbury's (with their whimsical BFG story).

The most unusual and talked-about has been from Waitrose, who set about doing a two-parter advert with a mystery at the heart of it.

Needless to say, it's Christmas, alright.

Scroll down to see the best Christmas adverts of 2024.

John Lewis: The Gifting Hour

John Lewis has finally unveiled their Christmas campaign for 2024 - and it's a sweet one.

Centred around family, the story follows Sally (Margaret Clunie), who's desperate to find the perfect gift for her sister in John Lewis, just 15 minutes before the store shuts for the big day.

She finds a magical door which transports her back through important memories with her sister, while she tries to get ideas on presents she'll really love.

When she gets back to reality, she's got a neatly wrapped gift in hand and heads to give it to her beloved sister.

The song behind it is The Verve's Sonnet, performed for a special acoustic version by Richard Ashcroft.

Tesco: Helping #FeedYourChristmasSpirit

Tesco has produced a tear-jerker this year with their Christmas advert, that tells the story of Gary, a man who lost his dear Grandmother in the year.

When his Grandfather gives him some Gingerbread cookies, his world is transformed into a gingerbread paradise, with Christmas becoming magical for him.

But memories of his Grandmother start creeping in, making him sad, which ruin the feel-good Christmas world - that is, until, he remembers the joy of making a gingerbread house with his Grandmother, and decides to make one with his Grandfather in her absence.

The joy and love he remembered comes back once more and Christmas is as magical as ever for Gary, while he can still remember those he lost.

Hobbycraft: Every Moment is a Gift

Hobbycraft is going above and beyond just an advert this Christmas to bring joy to children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions.

The advert sees colleagues designing, creating and delivering an array of handmade Christmas decorations to Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice in West Sussex to make transform it into a winter wonderland.

It ends with a call for viewers to donate £5 by texting MOMENT to 70560 or via www.hobbycraft.co.uk/charity to raise vital funds for Together for Short Lives.

JD Sports: The Family Portrait

Sports retailer JD has released its Christmas campaign which celebrates ever aspect of families at Christmas, from those they are born into to those they find through friends.

Furthermore, it's jam-packed with starts such as Central Cee, Maya Jama, Chunkz, and Liverpool legend, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The advert features different tableaus of family life that keep us going and push us forward, all to the soundtrack made up of Jamie XX's Wanna.

Watch JD Sport's Christmas advert 2024 here.

Asda: Gnome of Christmas

If there's one thing we love at Christmas, it's a good old fashioned pun. And there's plenty in the fun advert from Asda.

The supermarket giant has enlisted garden gnomes from across the land to help get Asda ship and shape for Christmas, getting help cooking some delightful mince pies and more, delivering some beautiful clothes for party season and helping turn on the Christmas lights, all before driving gnome for Christmas. I mean, home.

The advert is set to the music from the A-Team theme tune and of course a remix of Driving Home for Christmas. Truly memorable.

Boots: #MakeMagic

Boots brought the star-power to their Christmas advert with Bridgerton's Lady Danbury herself stepping into the role of Mrs Claus.

The retailer brought the "werkshop" to life with Adjoa Andoh leading her helpful elves while showcasing all the beauty goodies on offer to customers this Christmas.

The advert ends with a fabulous aside from Andoh, who adds, "you thought it was all him?".

Barbour: Shaun the Sheep x Baa-bour

Barbour has now released its Christmas advert for 2024, and it's a festive affair featuring one very familiar face: Shaun the Sheep.

The retailer has teamed up with the Aardman favourite for a second year, and this time he's part of a *Baabershop choir*.

The festive short starts with Shaun and the rest of the flock ready to perform a rendition of a Christmas carol, but they're all simply far too cold to do so!

Bitzer, the choir leader has a plan, and drives off to his local town, before returning with arms full of Barbour bags filled with scarves and woolly hats.

Now they're all warm, they're of course in the right frame of mind to perform their carol which is filled with pure festive joy.

M&S: Christmas Starts Here

M&S has launched the second part of their Christmas campaign featuring goodies from clothing and home.

As part of the campaign, Skylar Blu (Britain's Got Talent season 15) leads the way with her magical snow globe that makes festive dreams come true along with song and dance.

Anna Braithwaite, M&S Clothing & Home Marketing Director, said: “For many of our customers, Christmas is one of the biggest events in the calendar, a moment for the whole family to look forward to, to come together and create lasting memories.

“The festive season instils a sense of hope, wonder and joy and this year, we’re taking a playful approach by adding a little fantasy to our Christmas campaign. We have long been known to deliver the magic and sparkle of Christmas for our customers and this season, through our campaign, we’re showcasing the very best of M&S, with exceptional quality, stylish clothing and innovative, thoughtful and playful gifts – all at a great value.”

Watch the M&S Christmas advert 2024 here.

Lidl: A Magical Christmas and a Freeway truck

Lidl has unveiled its Christmas advert which has been created by Oscar-winning director, Tom Hooper (the force behind The King's Speech among others).

The message behind it is important, showing how small gestures can make a big difference this Christmas.

The advert starts with a narrator describing magic for "all but one", and shows a young boy looking cold on the sidelines while he watches children on their sledges. A little girl notices him and is concerned. She stops to help an elderly woman with her bags, who then tells her to make a wish when the bell rings.

In a sweet scene, the girl wishes for the cold boy to have a Lidl woolly hat to keep him warm.

Lidl has confirmed the return of its Toy Bank scheme, which will aim to donate over 100,000 toys to children who may not have received a gift otherwise this Christmas. Lidl shoppers can drop off new and unopened toys at their local stores until 16th December.

And the above ad isn't Lidl's only festive innovation this year – the supermarket has also unveiled a second campaign that rivals Coca-Cola's iconic Christmas truck.

A 15 tonne, 20 metre long truck themed on its own-brand Freeway cola drink will visit 9 cities across the UK including Dundee, Wrexham and Wolverhampton – giving away present boxes, festive food shops and free food samples at each stop. Check out the ad – which also introduced Lidl employee-turned Santa lookalike Nick – below:

Waitrose: Sweet Suspicion

Stars from Succession, Fleabag and Sex Education have teamed up for Waitrose's super fun whodunnit Christmas advert.

Matthew Macfadyen stars as the Detective and is called upon to investigate who stole the yummy No.1 Waitrose Red Velvet Bauble Dessert before Christmas...

The culprit will be revealed in the second part of the advert, set to land at a later date.

Joe Wilkinson, Rakhee Thakrar, Sian Clifford, Dustin Demri-Burns and Erly Maynard all join the fun advert which was directed by Lucy Forbes (This is Going to Hurt).

M&S Christmas Food

Dawn French is back as the Fairy in a unique six-part advert from Marks & Spencer - with a twist, as Dawn French will not only voice the Fairy, but will appear in the advert herself!

Set to the tune of Step into Christmas by Elton John, the six-part advert captures the true spirit of Christmas as the Fairy delivers her festive magic. With food at the heart of the advert, viewers can see all the turkey and trimmings plus some delicious desserts to make your Christmas an unforgettable taste sensation! Over each instalment of the advert, the food keeps coming, with Dawn and Fairy enjoying the amazing treats on offer.

Speaking of her role in the advert, Dawn French says: "I’m absolutely thrilled to be fluttering back as Fairy this Christmas, and oh my wings, do we have a plot twist for you! Let’s just say, Fairy meeting Dawn herself was quite THE moment! Who knew we’d ever share the same screen? Magic really does happen!"

Shelter: World of Our Own

Housing and homelessness charity, Shelter, has launched a poignant Christmas advert, to highlight child homelessness and those living in temporary accommodation.

With the tagline "Love alone can’t protect a child from homelessness, but your donations could," Shelter encourages viewers to donate in order to help the thousands of children living in difficult conditions this year.

The advert shows a young girl with her dad wandering an alien landscape, enjoying their adventure together. Mia spots Santa as he makes his way towards Earth and she high-fives an alien before being thrust back to reality where tensions escalate in the family due to their temporary accommodation.

At the end of the advert, Mia and her dad return to the fantasy, while the dad agonises over how he will protect his daughter from real life.

Polly Neate, Chief Executive at Shelter said: “As a record 150,000 children face the prospect of spending winter stuck homeless in temporary accommodation, this film lays bare the stark and brutal reality that so many families are forced to experience. A grotty hostel or a cramped bedsit, with precious little room to sleep or play, is no home for anyone. Yet, this is where a heart-breaking number of children will be waking up on Christmas morning. Through the winter months, and all year round, Shelter’s expert advisers, across our community services, emergency helpline and online advice services, are doing all they can to support families to find or keep hold of a safe home. We need the public’s help and donations, now more than ever, to help us to be there for thousands of families who need us this winter.”

Visit www.shelter.org.uk/donate to donate.

Morrisons

Morrisons has followed up its charming Christmas advert from last year with the return of the singing oven gloves!

This year, they're performing Give a Little Love from Bugsy Malone which features a 26-person choir made up of Morrisons' colleagues from across the country.

And for added star-power, the advert was directed by Michael Gracey who is behiund The Greatest Showman.

The animated gloves represent hosts up and down the country who go above and beyond on Christmas Day to bring a feast to family tables.

Alex Rogerson, Morrisons Group Customer and Marketing Officer said: "Morrisons is here to ensure that every host can put on the greatest show at home this Christmas. We know that hosting can come with some pressure, but with our top-quality Christmas range and a little help from Morrisons experts and our singing oven gloves – our customers are set to shine bright this Christmas, with our range of great value food that looks spectacular, and tastes just as good.”

Watch the Morrisons Christmas advert 2024 here.

Amazon: Midnight Opus

Amazon is showing how thoughtful gifts can go a long way in their new Christmas advert for 2024.

Set to What the World Needs Now, the advert opens with a janitor going about his business in a theatre, but when colleagues hear his outstanding voice, they decide to use Amazon to prepare a performance stage for him to show off his talent.
Watch the Amazon Christmas advert 2024 here.

Freemans: Sophie & The Style Squad

Freemans.com has dropped their Christmas advert for 2024, with one very famous face delivering sought-after gifts.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is on hand in full sequin to drop off presents like a leopard-print handbag, LED facemask and Adidas trainers.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor said: “Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year and I hope we’ve packed that special feeling into these 30 seconds. The festive season is about spreading cheer, giving to others, celebrating our families and friendships and yes, treating ourselves too. I had so much fun making the ad with Freemans and I hope it puts everyone in the Christmas spirit a little earlier this year.”

Watch the Freemans Christmas advert 2024 here.

Aldi: Kevin the Carrot returns

This year's advert from Aldi is bringing back the supermarket's mascot Kevin the Carrot for a daring Mission Impossible-style adventure.

The ad opens in a festive snowy village on Christmas Eve, which is soon plunged into darkness when a series of characters capture the 'Spirit of Christmas'.

But never fear: Santa has Kevin the Carrot on speed dial and wakes him to task him with breaking into the Humbug Headquarters and outsmarting Dr Humbug and her humbug minions to get the 'Spirit of Christmas' back.

Jemma Townsend, Marketing Director at Aldi UK, said: "Would it even be Christmas without Kevin the Carrot on our screens? We’re delighted to bring back everyone’s favourite carrot for a ninth year to help the nation get into the Christmas spirit."

Kyrsten Halley, Marketing Director at Aldi UK, added: "While the ad is packed with the light-hearted entertainment our shoppers have come to know and love, the message behind the campaign is a more serious one — we want to make sure everyone can have the best Christmas possible. It’s why we have a big focus on quality this Christmas, while making sure our prices continue to be unbeatable."

Argos: Trevor the Rockstar

Argos revealed its Christmas advert on Friday 1st November, which featured the company's mascot Trevor the dinosaur imagining his life as a rockstar.

Standing atop a mound of Marshall amplifiers and speakers as an adoring crowd chants his name, Trevor shreds the guitar as he covers the classic T-Rex hit 20th Century Boy – with the lyrics changed to 20th Century Toy.

His friend Connie the doll is one of those in the audience, until we hear her shout "Trev", waking him up from what appears to have been a daydream. She then wishes him a Marry Christmas and hands him a present, which he opens to find one of those Marshall speakers he'd been dreaming of.

"Whatever you're dreaming of, there's more to Argos," a voiceover says.

"Our customers love Trevor the dinosaur and Connie the doll, so we’re thrilled they’re back again to spread some festive fun and magic in such an energetic and upbeat way," said Argos head of campaigns Laura Boothby.

“At Argos, whatever your loved ones are dreaming of this Christmas, we’ve got it covered. Whether it’s the latest and best in sound and tech, or the top toys of the season."

Watch the Argos Christmas advert 2024 here.

Etsy: Where's Wally?

Etsy has also revealed it's Christmas advert for 2024, with the online retailer debuting a new spot which revolves around a live-action version of the classic children's book Where's Wally?

It features Wally wandering about town in his iconic red-and-white stripy top and talking about how he loves crowds but wishes people would stop asking "Where's Wally?" and instead ask "Who's Wally?"

But at the end of the advert he returns home to a woman wearing a matching outfit, explaining "Sometimes it takes someone who really knows you to make you feel seen," as she hands him a present that turns out to be a customised compass.

As reported by ADWEEK, Etsy chief brand officer Brad Minor said: "We wanted to create a campaign that captures the emotional magic of meaningful gift-giving – how Etsy sellers create gifts that make people feel truly seen and understood. Our holiday campaign highlights how Etsy sellers aren’t just making products, they’re creating moments of connection."

Watch the Etsy Christmas advert 2024 here.

Debenhams: Duh, Debenhams

This year's Debenhams advert perfectly captures the chaos that can come with Christmas shopping on the high street.

As we see paper shopping bags disintegrating in the rain, too many search engine pop-ups adding to the pre-Christmas stress and lengthy store queues, some familiar faces remind us that actually, the ease of it all can come by simply shopping online at Debenhams.

The solution to it all? Duh, Debenhams.

The cast of the advert includes actress and model Elizabeth Hurley, model Leomie Anderson, comedian Ellie Taylor, and model and presenter Hannah Cooper-Dommett.

On starring in the advert, Hurley said: "I’m absolutely delighted to be part of ‘Duh, Debenhams’ this Christmas, my favourite time of year! This campaign beautifully embodies the joy of the festive season, blending humour with style.

"There’s nothing quite like celebrating with loved ones at holiday parties, and Debenhams makes it easy to find the perfect outfits and gifts that elevate every gathering."

Watch the Debenhams Christmas advert 2024 here.

Sainsbury's: Sainsbury's BIG Christmas

This year's advert from Sainsbury's has gone big - really big, as it has been inspired by and features Roald Dahl's beloved character the BFG.

The ad sees the BFG planning his Christmas meal, before asking: "Hey, Sainsbury’s, how can we make this Christmas a bit more… phizz-whizzing?"

A Sainsbury's colleague named Sophie offers to help the BFG as they travel the land in search of food, sourcing fresh produce from Sainsbury’s suppliers, including salmon, Brussels sprouts and Stilton cheese.

Following their adventures, the advert ends with Sophie and the BFG wishing each other a merry Christmas, and the voice of Stephen Fry saying to customers: "Want to go big this Christmas? Ask Sainsbury’s. Good food for all of us."

Emma Bisley, head of campaigns at Sainsbury’s, said of the ad: "Collaborating with the Roald Dahl Story Company this year was a remarkable opportunity to tap into the nostalgia and heartwarming spirit that the BFG embodies, and we hope that this advert captures the nation's hearts and fills them with joy."

TK Maxx: Festive Farm

Fans may get a bit of déjà vu watching this year's TK Maxx Christmas ad, as the retailer has decided to bring back its campaign from 2023, called Festive Farm.

The advert sees a beret-wearing goat, bow tie-adorned duck, cosy-sweatered alpaca and bobble-hatted hedgehog donning designer Christmas gifts from the farmer and his wife, and strutting through the snow to Eve and Gwen Stefani's Let Me Blow Ya Mind.

The farmer asks his wife, "Did you buy all the farm designer outfits? I thought we were keeping it small with the gifts this year?" to which she replies, "Oh, I did, love."

New elements tied to the campaign for this year include TK Maxx selling the characters as a range of soft toys, with £2.50 from the sale of every toy going to The King’s Trust to help disadvantaged young people develop the skills and confidence to create a better future.

Meanwhile, this year TK Maxx has also teamed up with the creator of TikTok and Instagram account 'Sylvanian Drama', who have brought the festive friends to life through a three-part social content series, which will launch across TK Maxx’s TikTok and Instagram channels in mid-November.

Keep this page bookmarked as we bring you the best Christmas adverts for 2024 as they drop.

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