Aldi Christmas Advert 2023 0-49 screenshot

System1 Unveils Christmas Ad Front-Runners as Brands Vie for Viewer Hearts

Aldi's Kevin the Carrot and M&S Food's Fairy Lead the Festive Pack with 5.9-Star Ratings

By creative salon

08 November 2023

In the festive battle for viewers' hearts, System1, the creative effectiveness platform, has announced the front-runners in this year's Christmas ad race based on emotional response data from its Test Your Ad platform. The competition is fierce, with Aldi's Kevin the Carrot narrowly leading over M&S Food, both ads featuring beloved Christmas characters.

System1's unique one-five Star scale gauges commercial effectiveness by measuring the emotional response and intensity viewers have to ads. In 2022, a record-breaking 16 Christmas ads achieved a perfect five-star rating, indicating exceptional potential for market share growth.

As the 2023 Christmas ad season reaches its halfway point, six ads have already earned five-star status, with Aldi and M&S Food taking the lead with an impressive 5.9-stars each. Both ads bring back familiar characters – Kevin the Carrot exploring Willy Conker's Christmas Factory and M&S Food's Fairy meeting animated mittens. Kevin the Carrot, in particular, has showcased the enduring power of Fluent Devices, debuting at three-stars in 2016 and consistently improving to achieve five-stars for the last five years.

Joining the festive fray, Father Christmas emerges as a central figure in the top six, with four five-star ads featuring different heartwarming narratives. Boots, Sainsbury's, Vodafone, and Coca-Cola all portray various aspects of the jolly old man's adventures, reflecting a trend where Santa takes centre stage in this year's Christmas ads.

Jon Evans, chief customer officer at System1, noted: "Santa's never been this central to Christmas ads, and audiences can't get enough of Saint Nick this year. It's not just a coincidence – it's a sign that people are hungry for festive tradition and generosity, the things Santa symbolises best."