Intimacy, smiles, marketing – the best Christmas ads of 2024

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/2-3.

Old and new values

According to the experts of the TV2 Group, Christmas commercials have become an essential part of the Advent season.

Erika Csikesz
sales and digital
director
TV2 Média Group

“These campaigns focus not so much on the product, but on the Christmas holiday and the things associated with it, such as caring, the family and intimacy. This is where advertising has the potential to deliver really important messages to a wide audience”,

says Erika Csikesz, sales and digital director of TV2 Média Group Zrt.

She thinks advertising is becoming more and more emotional, focusing on the intimacy of the holidays, on being together, selflessness and love. The narratives are often heartfelt – human stories that easily resonate with viewers. Several brands have incorporated themes of social responsibility – such as environmental protection or supporting communities – into their Christmas advertising.

Erika Csikesz also points out that television is still one of the best platforms to reach the general public at the same time, especially during live shows and self-produced programmes. Television presence reinforces the brand, especially in markets where consumers put more trust in the ads they see on TV.

Master Good Christmas 2024

László Bárány
owner, managing director
Master Good Group

Master Good’s Christmas image film won the competition. It sought to inspire everyone that caring and listening to those around us is important in the run-up to the festive season and that a cosy holiday together is even more precious.

“Numerous factors have contributed to the success of our commercial, perhaps the most important of these is our special approach. The style of animation we used, the colours and the details gave our short film a unique character. Our creative team combined the spirit of Christmas with a playful yet emotional story, spectacular animation and creative solutions to attract attention”,

explains László Bárány, owner and managing director of the Master Good Group.

He adds that owing to changes in consumption habits and the rise of digital platforms, television ads are now shorter and more attention-grabbing.

A gourmet cat’s Christmas

Illés Tímea
brand manager
Nestlé Hungária

Tímea Illés, brand manager of Nestlé Hungária Kft. tells our magazine that several factors had to do with their ad winning the silver medal. The first is the emotional connection: most people have a love affair with cats and many people give their pets presents at Christmas.

“A simple but effective message is very important for an advertisement, especially at Christmas time. Our commercial emphasised that the simplicity of happiness lies in quality GOURMET food. This is in contrast with people’s gift-giving habits, which tend to be characterised by excessive and stressful gifting. This difference was presented with light humour, which appealed to many”,

opines Tímea Illés. In terms of visual elements, the ad was dominated by a home with Christmas decorations, warm lights and classic Christmas colours, and Christmas music was also used.

Merry Christmas!

Brigitta Zentai
marketing campaign manager
Tesco-GLOBÁL

Brigitta Zentai, marketing campaign manager at Tesco-GLOBAL Zrt. says that their bronze medal winner advertisement focused on the family. The commercial featured two generations (grandfather and grandchild) preparing for Christmas, and the link between them was gingerbread, the symbol of family celebration. The gingerbread symbolises home and the absence of grandma, but also brings the family together.

“We concentrated on the presence of the family and emphasised the role and importance of the older generation, with whom Christmas becomes complete. We created a Christmas atmosphere with spectacular visual elements”,

recalls Brigitta Zentai.

The music for the commercial was a well-known pop song by Gorillaz, which fits the message of the ad and at the same time enhances the visuals.

Dr. Péter Németh 
assistant professor
PTE KTK

In cooperation with Ipsos Zrt., the CoRe lab Consumer Behaviour Research Centre of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Pécs (PTE) did research using a complex methodology to answer the question: what creates the Christmas spirit in the minds of consumers and how do seasonal advertisements contribute to this?

There was an online questionnaire survey of a representative sample of 1,000 people and neuromarketing tools were also used. Dr Péter Németh, assistant professor at PTE and head of the CoRe lab, and Dr Erika Lázár, assistant professor at PTE and researcher of the CoRe lab give readers an insight into the details of the research.

Tuning in starts before Christmas

The questionnaire survey revealed that 36.2% of respondents start preparing for the holidays during the Advent period, but 15 % begin preparations as early as November. According to the representative survey, the early tune-in is mainly concentrated among younger age groups and these people are more likely to be women. In the study 4 types of Christmas groups were identified.

Dr. Erika Lázár
assistant professor
PTE KTK

Christmas lovers form the youngest group, who like everything Christmas – even advertising. They are easily influenced by emotional messages. People with a reserved attitude about Christmas tend to be men. They start tuning in early but aren’t characterised by an intense, spectacular festive atmosphere and don’t like overwhelming Christmas displays. Those who seek festive harmony are drawn to emotions and nostalgia. This is a more feminine group, who tend to start tuning in before Christmas. On the other hand, the so-called Grinches aren’t enthusiastic about Christmas at all and never feel like being in a festive mood; they are the oldest group.

In the second part of the study PTE’s researchers used neuromarketing tools to examine six different Christmas commercials. Those made by Vodafone, Kifli.hu, Telekom and PENNY had a slightly longer format and relied heavily on storytelling elements.

In contrast the ads by Coca-Cola and Spar were shorter, focusing mainly on creating a Christmas festive atmosphere through visuals and music. The research revealed that story-based ads achieve stronger emotional engagement compared to mood videos. More details of the research are available on the CoRe lab website. //