Brands “subverting Christmas traditions without falling out of step with the festive spirit” have made this year’s “most effective” ads.
Aldi has topped the charts for branded and de-branded recognition with its three-part festive trilogy, according to exclusive Ipsos ‘Race to Christmas’ data.
In the final week of the race, Aldi’s tenth year of ‘Kevin the Carrot’ – specifically part three in the trilogy ‘It’s a 24 Carrot Christmas for Kevin and Katie’ – takes the top spot for the most recognised ad. Some 55% of the public recognise the creative from de-branded stills, overtaking Waitrose’s ‘The Perfect Gift’, which now sits in second place at 53%.
Aldi has topped the charts for branded and de-branded recognition with its three-part festive trilogy, according to exclusive Ipsos ‘Race to Christmas’ data.
In the final week of the race, Aldi’s tenth year of ‘Kevin the Carrot’ – specifically part three in the trilogy ‘It’s a 24 Carrot Christmas for Kevin and Katie’ – takes the top spot for the most recognised ad. Some 55% of the public recognise the creative from de-branded stills, overtaking Waitrose’s ‘The Perfect Gift’, which now sits in second place at 53%.
Amazon’s ‘Joy Ride’ also saw success in this category, rising from fifth to third place with a score of 52% – a 10% jump week-on-week.
Senior creative excellence director at Ipsos, Samira Brophy, explains the decision to re-use of the 2023 ad with strong media support has “worked Christmas magic for the brand”.
While still at the bottom of the rankings, Vodafone also saw a jump – up to 25% this week from a score of 16% last week.
When it comes to branded recognition, which is the percentage of people who recognise the ad and correctly link it to the brand, the third instalment in the Aldi trilogy also tops the charts for a second week with a score of 40% – consistent with its score from last week.
Amazon is in second place for branded recognition with a score of 38%, entering the top three podium for the first time in this ranking. This marks an 8% increase from the retailer’s score last week when it ranked fifth.
Waitrose and Asda’s ‘A Very Merry Grinchmas’ are joint third with scores of 34%. Last week, Sainsbury’s ‘The Unexpected Guest’ was second with 35%, while Asda was third with 34%. Etsy and Barbour come in at the bottom of the rankings with 3% each.
On ad recognition in general, Brophy says the average recognition for brands in 2025 is “in line with what we would expect from 250-500 TVRS [television rating] worth of spend”.
“It just shows you how busy and competitive the time of year is and brands adopting a ‘misfit mindset’ to creative effectiveness across different channels over time are leading the way,” says Brophy.
This approach includes episodic storytelling and ad refresh/re-use. Crucially, Brophy claims “subverting Christmas traditions without falling out of step with the festive spirit and the mood of the nation” proved the “most effective” tactic.
Disney+ has risen to the top for ad empathy, despite falling lower in the rankings for recognition. When respondents were asked if the ad is ‘for people like me’, the brand scored 55%. Disney+ overtakes Google Pixel, which slipped from 58% last week to 47% this week.
Disney+ also notched up the highest score for brand feel good. Some 54% of recognisers strongly agree the advert ‘made me feel good about the brand’. Google Pixel topped the rankings on this metric last week, but this week drops to fourth with 47%, also overtaken by Coca-Cola’s ‘Holidays Are Coming’ at 50% and previous leader Barbour at 48%.
Waitrose’s The Perfect Gift remains the nation’s favourite ad for the third week running, with 14% of respondents spontaneously recalling it as their favourite ad, followed by John Lewis at 13% and Aldi at 8%, which remain in second and third place respectively.
Issues of ad misattribution seem to be improving from last week. This week, 31% of respondents are still getting McDonald’s ‘The Grinch Sabotages McDonald’s’ and Asda’s Grinch themed ad mixed up, compared to 34% last week and 55% in week four.
Elsewhere, M&S Food’s ‘Traffic Jamming’ scored the highest when asked if ‘the food looked delicious’, inferring that featuring food compliant with the new less healthy food rules has “worked well”.
And, with Christmas fast approaching, 50% of respondents say they’re excited for Christmas, a 3% increase from last week.