The carrot that keeps on giving: Aldi named most powerful Christmas ad in Kantar study

John Lewis and Waitrose campaign rated most enjoyable.

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Aldi’s "Christmas spectacular" is the most powerful of 19 major festive ad campaigns, according to research by Kantar, which tested the ads with 2,824 UK consumers using its LinkNow service.

The spot is the fourth to feature the retailer’s vegetable mascot Kevin the Carrot. Kevin’s last outing was named the public’s favourite Christmas ad of 2018 in Campaign’s Adwatch of the Year survey.

Aldi’s ad, by McCann UK, scored the highest across the seven categories measured by LinkNow. It was ranked the most "different" and came joint top as the most "emotional" with two others: "Excitable Edgar", the joint campaign from John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners, and Marks & Spencer's "Go jumpers".

"Excitable Edgar" was voted as the most enjoyable ad, while participants also rated it as the ad that best celebrates the joy of Christmas. Aldi’s spot was rated as second most enjoyable, followed by Asda’s "Let’s make Christmas extra special".

Meanwhile, Walkers' "Too good to share", featuring Mariah Carey, was rated as the ad that generated the most brand love. Aldi was again second on this measure, with Amazon’s "Everybody needs somebody" third.

Lynne Deason, Kantar UK’s head of creative excellence, said: "To create advertising that really resonates with consumers, brands must understand what we’re thinking and feeling. Many are making a very deliberate effort to lift our spirits this year.

"They’re earning attention by taking us on a dramatic emotional journey, using entertaining, cinematic stories that bring a magical sparkle and – hopefully – leave us feeling good. This year, lost joy will mean lost sales."