Sources: (clockwise from upper left) Aldi UK, Amazon.com, Wegmans, Publix, Kroger, SPAR Ireland, Etsy
The winner of the 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge is…
Seven weeks of head-to-head competitions have brought us to the finals of the 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge with six clear-cut winners and one tie. Who will be crowned the champ from among Etsy, Kroger, Publix, Amazon.com, Aldi UK, Wegmans, SPAR Ireland and Walmart? That’s up to you. View the spots that follow and vote for your favorite in the Instant Poll.
Etsy – To The Travelers
Kroger – The Magical Cookbook
Publix – A Recipe For What Matters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAssyB09Bg
Amazon.com – Joy Is Made
Aldi UK – Kevin Home Alone
Wegmans – The More We Get Together
SPAR Ireland – Finding Christmas
Walmart – All The Ways We Holiday
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Which retailer commercials made a positive impression on you during the 2022 holiday season? Which spot was the best?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
David Slavick
Co-Founder & Partner, Ascendant Loyalty
As usual, so many good ads. Publix has always made great holiday ads and this is no exception — warm, emotional, and hinting that you can get all the food items you need there. Walmart comes in at a close second for me — selling without overdoing it.
I love the segment of the Etsy commercial when the daughter gives her dad a snow globe — his face! — but my favorite is Publix because it just hits home.
How many times does this happen every holiday or, for that matter, every day? Moms and grandmas hold the key to family recipes, even when we know them by heart. My daughter is an amazing cook but my heart still swells when she calls to ask me a question. I’d call my Mom a gazillion times if I could. It’s Publix for the win!
The Kroger ad has been ubiquitous here in Milwaukee (under the Pick N’ Save banner) and I find it a heartfelt way to tie together food, family and the holidays. (With a shout-out to the Pixar movie “Up.”) I would probably put it at the top of my list despite repeated viewings on local TV, but there is some strong competition.
That being said, some of the ads — however well-crafted — do not connect the viewer to the retailer and its products clearly enough. I also find this year’s trend of “remembering those we lost” (see Kroger, Amazon and the Coke spot with the cook’s late mother hovering in the kitchen) a little somber for the season.
My top pick, Lidl’s ad’s play on the Big Lebowski, didn’t make the official final cut. So my vote goes to Etsy with a close second to Kroger.
There are so many good ads this year! The Publix and Amazon ads resonated with me the most. Christmas/Holidays are all about children, and in these, we enjoy two stages of the childhood journey.
A spot with a heartfelt, human feeling always wins at the holidays. Publix did it perfect. Etsy is very well done in showing a spectrum of nationalities and personal gift giving with a unique touch. It is just wonderful to see these spots celebrating family, closeness, love and humor vs. pharma ads for products that always end in a vowel! Happy holidays everyone!
Publix and Kroger are the best at showing how food connects us, especially at holiday time.
Clearly the ads this year were terrific. I resonate with the Spar theme as I lived and taught in Ireland. However, the Publix Thanksgiving spot was my clear winner for all of the reasons shared by other panel members.
Happy New Year!
Is it too late for Scrooge? I thought the technical competency of the ads was high, but the “selling” element was low: most seemed to want to warm hearts, rather than empty wallets; and while as consumers we may appreciate that, I wonder if the people paying for the ads got their money’s worth.
The other thing I noticed is how many spots were grocers … a group that isn’t really the first that comes to mind for Christmas shopping (at least by me). I really don’t know what — if anything — to make of it, but it seemed remarkable.
Publix has done another incredible job at gently crafting a winning holiday ad while still selling their brand in their ad. Publix is at the top of this heap because of the way that they gently craft this ad while still capturing the viewer’s interest and bringing them into the commercial’s message.