The biggest Christmas adverts of 2015: From John Lewis’ Man on the Moon and Sainsbury’s Mog the Cat to Justino, Warburtons and Burberry
John Lewis and Sainsbury’s have tussled over our affections pitting Man against Cat in their bid to create this year’s most heartwarming Christmas advert, with the retail giant's tear-jerker finally beating the supermarket's more upbeat offering.
Sainbury’s Christmas advert featuring Mog the Cat was quickly crowned 2015’s winner by City A.M.’s own reviewer, who praised the way it “managed to navigate the right side of the emotional spectrum” with a dose of family humour amid the message of sharing and sentimentallity.
But when it came to winning over the UK public, this Christmas there was no contest. These are 2015’s most shared Christmas adverts.
5. Burberry: Celebrating 15 Years of Billy Elliot
Burberry’s advert has been shared an impressive 118,613 times in the month since it went live on 3 November, according to data from Unruly.
4. Warburtons: Muppets – The Giant Crumpet Show
Warburtons managed to bring in 126,220 shares with its festive ad this year, putting the Muppets-themed spot in fourth place.
3. Spanish Lottery: Justino
This surprise entry from the Spanish Lottery soared into the top five with a heart-warming tale reminiscent of Pixar’s “Up” that Unruly’s Dan Best called a “beautiful piece of storytelling which feels like something out of an Xmas fairytale”.
It came out of nowhere to give frontrunners John Lewis and Sainsbury’s a real run for their money, getting shared 159,996 times since launching in mid-November.
2. Sainsbury’s: Mog’s Christmas Calamity
Mog the Cat became an immediate favourite, and not just with kids. City A.M.’s reviewer preferred it to John Lewis, and it’s been shared 811,939 times.
1. John Lewis: #ManOnTheMoon
John Lewis tugged at our heartstrings with Man on the Moon this Christmas, and it worked. Notching up a cool six million views in the first 24 hours after its launch, by now it’s clear that John Lewis’s tearjerker has come away the clear winner in the battle for the most popular Christmas advert, with 1,156,223 shares.
When it comes to the most popular advert globally, however, neither of the retailers even come close to the top spot.
That honour went to Google Android's Friends Furever campaign, viewed over 20m times and shared over 6.4m times since it was launched in February.