Lapse Productions ranks the best holiday video ads each season on published ad-effectiveness data, and the measured winner of the last full season, Christmas 2025, was Amazon’s Joy Ride: a 2023 ad that Amazon brought back and that topped System1’s 2025 Christmas leaderboard at 5.9 stars, the top of its scale. Most of the big 2026 Christmas ads release in early to mid November, so this edition ranks the 2025 season on data, adds the 2026 ads already out, and keeps two classics that still teach something. Every entry is labelled with its season.
The short answer
- Amazon’s Joy Ride (first aired 2023, rerun in 2025) topped System1’s 2025 Christmas ranking at 5.9 stars.
- Kantar named Cadbury’s Secret Santa the most effective Christmas ad of 2025, and five of Kantar’s top 10 reused earlier ads.
- The common thread: a familiar brand asset, one clear story, and the product written into the plot.
- Canadian standouts: WestJet’s Christmas Miracle (the 2013 original and the 2025 edition) and Air Canada’s Holiday Dreams Take Flight (2025).
- For 2026, Walmart’s A Who Knew Carol is the first major release; the big UK spots are still landing.
How did we rank these holiday video ads?
We ranked on two published datasets rather than on taste. System1 tests ads with real viewers and scores each one from 1.0 to 5.9 stars for long-term brand-building potential; it called 2025 a record-breaking Christmas for ad performance. Kantar tested the 2025 UK Christmas ads with 4,050 consumers against a database of more than 250,000 ads, ranking them on branding, persuasion and enjoyment.
The order below follows System1’s star ratings, using System1’s own leaderboard order where scores tie. Kantar’s results sit alongside, and where the two disagree we say so. Both datasets lean British, because the UK is where System1 and Kantar publish their Christmas rankings, so we added the US and Canadian ads that System1 scored or that we could verify.
What were the best Christmas ads of 2025?
Here is the ranking at a glance, then a card for each ad covering what it does and the lesson for a mid-market brand.
| Rank | Ad | Brand | Agency | Season | Measured result | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joy Ride | Amazon | Amazon creative team with Hungry Man | 2025 rerun (first aired 2023) | System1 5.9 stars, number one on its 2025 leaderboard | A cheap product unlocks a big emotional payoff |
| 2 | The Perfect Gift | Waitrose | Wonderhood Studios | 2025 | System1 5.9 stars | A romcom where the product is the plot device |
| 3 | Holidays Are Coming | Coca-Cola | AI studios Silverside and Secret Level | 2025 | System1 5.9 stars; Kantar second overall | Familiar owned assets carried an AI-made film |
| 4 | A Very Merry Grinchmas | Asda | Lucky Generals | 2025 | System1 5.9 stars; Kantar top 10 | A familiar story carries a price message |
| 5 | Must Be Love | Heathrow | St Luke’s | 2025 | System1 5.9 stars | A beloved brand asset returns after seven years |
| 6 | Operation: Gingerbread | Kroger (US) | Adam and Eve DDB | 2025 | System1 5.9 stars (US test) | A real homecoming story built with employees |
| 7 | Kevin the Carrot: The Proposal | Aldi | McCann Manchester | 2025 | System1 5.8 stars; Kantar named the stag do episode funniest | Ten years of one character, released in episodes |
| 8 | A Critter Carol | Apple | TBWA\Media Arts Lab | 2025 | System1 5.4 stars (UK), 5.3 (US) | The product is the camera that shot the film |
| 9 | Secret Santa Postal Service | Cadbury | VCCP | 2025 (platform since 2018) | Kantar most effective of 2025; System1 5.3 stars | A participation mechanic built into the ad |
| 10 | Where Love Lives | John Lewis | Saatchi and Saatchi | 2025 | System1 5.1 stars, the brand’s best in six years | One specific gift moment instead of spectacle |
1. Amazon, Joy Ride
There is no official upload we could verify to embed, so read Amazon’s announcement of the Joy Ride return.
What it does: Three lifelong friends watch children sledging from a park bench. One of them orders padded seat cushions on the Amazon app, and the three take to the hill, intercut with shots of them sledging as girls. The score is an instrumental cover of The Beatles’ In My Life, recorded with a 40-piece orchestra, and Kantar rated it the best use of music of the 2025 season.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: You do not need a new idea every year. Amazon reran a two-year-old film and it finished first on System1’s 2025 leaderboard, ahead of that year’s new ads. If you already have a holiday video that worked, re-cut it, re-test it and run it again before you pay for a new concept. Notice also how small the product is: a cushion. Your service can play the same role, the small thing that makes the good moment possible.
2. Waitrose, The Perfect Gift
There is no official upload we could verify to embed, so read The Grocer’s breakdown of The Perfect Gift.
What it does: A mini romcom. Phil, a widower facing Christmas alone (comedian Joe Wilkinson, returning from Waitrose’s 2024 ad), meets Keira Knightley at the cheese counter and tries to win her over by cooking her grandmother’s pie recipe. The pie is a real product, the Waitrose No.1 Festive Turkey Pie. The full film premiered on YouTube, with 30 and 60 second cuts on TV the same evening.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Write the product into the turning point of the story instead of saving it for the end card. A returning character helps too: Phil came back from 2024, so viewers started the film already invested. A recurring face, whether a founder, a staff member or a customer type, gives each year’s video a head start.
3. Coca-Cola, Holidays Are Coming
What it does: For the second year running, Coca-Cola generated its holiday film with AI: animals watch the red trucks roll through towns that turn festive, and Santa hands out ice-cold Coke. Online reaction was harsh, with commenters calling it forgettable and soulless (NBC News). It still scored 5.9 stars with System1 and ranked second overall with Kantar. Coca-Cola Canada also posted Holidays Are Coming to its Canadian YouTube channel.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Comment sections and effectiveness tests can disagree, and the familiar trucks are a big reason why. Coca-Cola built that imagery long before AI, so it carried the score whatever the production method. A mid-market brand without assets that strong gets judged on craft alone, which is a reason to treat AI as a tool inside a real production, not a replacement for one.
4. Asda, A Very Merry Grinchmas
There is no official upload we could verify to embed, so read Grocery Gazette’s coverage of the Asda Grinch ad.
What it does: The Grinch stands in for the family member who grumbles through Christmas, put off by expensive gifts and frightful prices until Asda’s green glow draws him into the store. The 90 second film premiered on Asda’s social channels and then on ITV1 on November 1, 2025. Asda’s own research found 70 percent of hard-working families worry about Christmas costs (Marketing Week).
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Price messaging lands when a story carries it. You will not license the Grinch, but the structure transfers: cast a character your audience already recognizes, the sceptic or the grump, and let your offer win them over on screen. Kantar also noted this was the only entirely new idea in its 2025 top 10, proof that new concepts can still win when they borrow a story people already know.
5. Heathrow, Must Be Love
What it does: Doris and Edward, the Heathrow Bears, return seven years after their last outing for a trip through the airport that echoes their first ad, Coming Home for Christmas. They ride a self-driving pod, get help from airport staff, nearly lose their boarding passes and turn human as passengers walk past. Heathrow even renamed Terminal 4 “Terminal Paw” for the campaign.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: A brand asset can sit out for years and come back warm. If you retired a character, a format or a sound that people liked, it may be worth more than a fresh concept. The ad also puts the real service on screen, staff helping travellers, which is the most credible thing any company can show.
6. Kroger, Operation: Gingerbread
What it does: A determined young girl rallies her family and friends to bake and decorate an oddly shaped gingerbread cookie. When a family member comes home for the holidays, the shape is revealed. The film recognizes the USO and was developed with help from Kroger’s veteran associates, and it launched on November 11, 2025.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Build the story with your own people. Kroger’s veteran employees gave a scripted film the credibility of lived experience. Your team’s real stories are the most authentic material you have, and they cost nothing to source.
7. Aldi, Kevin the Carrot: The Proposal
What it does: Kevin’s tenth Christmas ran as three episodes from November 3, 2025: a Love Actually inspired proposal to Katie, a chaotic stag do, then the wedding. Part 1 scored 5.8 stars, System1 put the trilogy average at 5.5, and the final part dipped to 4.9.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Episodes give people a reason to come back, and each release is a new moment in the feed. You can do the same from one shoot day: plan three short chapters and release them across the season. The falling scores are the warning: keep each chapter tight, because interest fades if the story drags.
8. Apple, A Critter Carol
There is no official upload we could verify to embed, so read PetaPixel’s look at how A Critter Carol was shot.
What it does: Woodland critters find a hiker’s dropped phone and come together to make music, with a raccoon singing Flight of the Conchords’ Friends. The cast is nine handmade puppets, shot in a studio entirely on iPhone 17 Pro.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Make the production method the proof. Apple never has to claim the camera is good, because the film is the evidence. If your product or service can be shown doing the work, build the video around that demonstration.
9. Cadbury, Secret Santa Postal Service
What it does: Cadbury’s Secret Santa platform lets people send a free Cadbury bar to someone they care about, and the TV work exists to drive that action. Kantar ranked it the most effective Christmas ad of 2025, after it also topped Kantar’s 2024 rankings.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: This is where the two datasets disagree. System1 measures emotional response and long-term brand potential; Kantar weighs branding and persuasion, and a film that asks viewers to do something scores well there. Build a simple action into your video, such as send, nominate or book, and the video becomes a campaign rather than a moment.
10. John Lewis, Where Love Lives
What it does: A teenage son gives his dad a 1990s vinyl record on Christmas Day. The dad plays it and is transported back to dancing in a 90s club, with flashbacks to his son as a baby and a toddler. The track is Alison Limerick’s Where Love Lives, with a slower version by Labrinth in the closing section.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: The famous Christmas brand is no longer the automatic winner. John Lewis improved on its recent scores but finished behind grocers and an airport, and outside Kantar’s top 10. Heritage and budget do not guarantee results; a specific, relatable moment does more work than spectacle.
Which Canadian holiday ads are worth studying?
Canadian holiday ads are rarely in the published System1 and Kantar rankings, so these two are unranked. Both come from the 2025 season, and both prove you can make a strong holiday film by documenting something real.
WestJet, Christmas Miracle 2025
What it does: WestJet’s annual Christmas Miracle delivered gifts to more than 600 families at 16 Ronald McDonald House locations across Canada: toys for the children, and blankets, thermoses and noise-cancelling headphones for the parents. More than 700 WestJetters volunteered. The video was released on December 8, 2025.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: A real act, filmed well, is more credible than any script. A documentary-style video of something your company genuinely does, a volunteer day or a client appreciation event, is often simpler to produce than a concept spot. Our event video production crews shoot exactly this kind of day.
Air Canada, Holiday Dreams Take Flight
What it does: The film follows Hawi, a seven-year-old girl from the Kanien’kehà:ka community of Akwesasne, on a trip with Dreams Take Flight, a program that sends children facing physical, mental or social adversity on dream trips. She boards her first flight and explores Walt Disney World. It ran in 90, 30 and 15 second versions on social and digital, a shift from the storybook fantasy spots Air Canada made with FCB in earlier years, such as Once upon a Tree in 2023 and The Pond in 2024.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Show the people your service affects, then plan the cutdowns before the shoot. One story in three lengths covers paid social, pre-roll and your website without a second production day.
Which classic holiday ads still hold up?
Two older ads stay on this list because the techniques behind them keep working.
WestJet, Christmas Miracle: Real-Time Giving
What it does: Passengers on Calgary-bound flights from Toronto and Hamilton told a virtual Santa what they wanted as they scanned their boarding passes. While they were in the air, 175 WestJet volunteers bought the gifts, and the presents filled the baggage carousel in Calgary (CBC). The video passed 35 million views soon after launch and more than 48 million by 2018 (Adweek).
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Turn your operational capability into the story. WestJet’s real message was “we can move fast for you,” shown rather than said. The format became an annual franchise that was still running in 2025, which is the consistency lesson from the 2025 rankings, made in Canada a decade earlier.
Hershey’s Kisses, Christmas Bells
What it does: Hershey’s Kisses, arranged as a set of handbells, ring out a carol. It debuted in December 1989 and Hershey calls it its longest-running commercial ever. When System1 tested it in 2018 it scored 5.9 stars with a Spike Rating of 1.70, and it scored 5.9 stars again in System1’s 2025 tracker.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Short, wordless and readable with the sound off, it was built for feeds decades before feeds existed. Simple ideas age well, and repetition makes them stronger rather than stale.
What holiday ads have launched for 2026 so far?
As of early November 2026, the season is just starting. None of these has been effectiveness-tested yet, so they are unranked; we will add them to the ranking as System1 and Kantar publish results.
Walmart, A Who Knew Carol
What it does: Walmart recreates The Muppet Christmas Carol, with Walton Goggins as Scrooge and Stephanie Beatriz as his niece, leading the Spanish-language spots. Three new ghosts each carry one seasonal message: gift ideas, Black Friday and Cyber Monday savings, and last-minute delivery in 30 minutes or less. The long-form film launched in late October 2026.
The lesson for a mid-market brand: Run one idea for the whole season and give each phase its own chapter. Walmart’s CMO, William White, told Retail Dive that one campaign throughout the season “allows a really quick read for customers to know it’s Walmart.” Our ranking of the best Black Friday video ads covers the deal-driven phase in more depth.
Also out by November 1, 2026, as reported by Famous Campaigns:
- Debenhams, Christmas. For Everyone. Reportedly the first major retailer out, on October 15, with a four-minute instalment of its The Village series. Watch the Debenhams 2026 Christmas ad.
- Tesco, The Wrong Address. From BBH London, a three-minute road trip set to The Police’s Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, first aired on ITV on November 1. Watch Tesco’s 2026 Christmas ad.
- Argos, There’s More to Argos. With Richard Ayoade as a Scrooge figure, the season’s second Christmas Carol riff after Walmart’s. Watch the Argos 2026 Christmas ad.
Still to come: in 2025 the big launches ran from Asda on November 1 to Apple’s film in late November, so expect the 2026 John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Amazon, Coca-Cola and Apple ads through the rest of the month.
What do the best holiday video ads have in common?
Across the ranked ads, the Canadian films and the classics, six patterns repeat.
| Pattern | Who did it | What it means for your video |
|---|---|---|
| Bring back what works | Amazon, Cadbury, Aldi, Heathrow, Hershey’s | Five of Kantar’s 2025 top 10 reused earlier ads. Re-cut and rerun a proven video before you pay for a new concept. |
| Put the product in the plot | Amazon, Waitrose, Apple | The cushions, the pie and the iPhone move the story forward. Write your service into the turning point, not the end card. |
| Film something real | WestJet, Air Canada, Kroger | Real people and real acts read as credible. Document what your company already does. |
| Give the offer a story | Asda, Walmart | Prices and deals land when a character carries them, not when they are read out. |
| Let music do the work | Amazon, John Lewis | A familiar track sets the emotion in seconds. Budget for proper music licensing. |
| Plan the cutdowns first | Aldi, Air Canada | Episodes and 90, 30 and 15 second versions come out of one production when the shot list is built for them. |
How can a mid-market brand apply these lessons?
Most of these ads had national budgets, but the decisions behind them cost nothing. In our experience producing corporate video at Lapse Productions, the holiday brief that works is one sentence long: what should the viewer feel, and what should they do next. Everything else follows from that.
- Start from an asset you already own. A recurring person, a format, a line or a sound. If last year’s video worked, update it and run it again.
- Write your service into the turning point. The cushion, the pie and the camera are not product shots; they are what makes the story happen.
- Film something real. A client thank-you, a team volunteer day or a year-in-review with your own people beats a stock gratitude montage.
- Plan the cut list before the shoot. One hero film, 30 and 15 second cuts, and captioned vertical versions, all from the same production day.
- Measure what pays. Judge the video on leads, quote requests and sales, not view counts. Test two cuts with a small paid budget and put the rest behind the winner.
Most holiday spots are promotional videos at heart, and our promotional video production in Toronto covers concept, shoot and every cutdown. If you are still deciding on a format, start with what a promotional video is and where it works. For booking deadlines and the tease, main push and last call structure, read our holiday video campaign planning guide.
Working on the earlier part of the season? Our Thanksgiving video ads roundup covers the weeks before Black Friday.
Make Your Own Holiday Video Ad
Tell us the goal and the launch date. Dario and Kyrill will scope the shoot, the hero film and the cutdowns, and quote it line by line.
Get a Free QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
What was the best Christmas ad of 2025?
By System1’s testing, Amazon’s Joy Ride, a 2023 ad that Amazon brought back for 2025, topped the Christmas leaderboard at 5.9 stars, the top of the scale. Kantar’s consumer testing named Cadbury’s Secret Santa the most effective, with Coca-Cola’s Holidays Are Coming second. Both lists favoured familiar, consistent campaigns.
Why do so many brands rerun their Christmas ads?
Because familiarity pays. Kantar found that five of its top 10 Christmas ads in 2025 reused earlier work, and Amazon’s rerun of Joy Ride topped System1’s ranking. Audiences recognize a returning character, song or story faster, so the brand gets credit sooner. Refresh the core idea rather than repeating it unchanged.
How much does a holiday video ad cost?
Every Lapse Productions project is custom quoted from an itemized rate card, with no fixed packages. Filming is $750 for a half day (5 hours) or $1,500 for a full day (10 hours), and project management is 10 percent of the project total. Rates are in CAD, HST not included. Cutdowns and add-ons are scoped into your quote.
Do holiday video ads work for B2B companies?
Yes, when the video is about something real. A client appreciation event, a team volunteer day or a year-in-review story fits the season and doubles as relationship content for your accounts. The WestJet and Air Canada films show the approach: document a genuine act, then cut it for email, LinkedIn and your website.
When do the big Christmas ads come out each year?
Most major brands release between late October and late November. In 2025, Asda launched on November 1, Coca-Cola and Aldi on November 3, Kroger on November 11 and Waitrose on November 12. For 2026, Debenhams was reported as first in mid-October, followed by Walmart in late October and Tesco on November 1.
About the author
Dario Nouri is a Producer and Co-Founder of Lapse Productions, the Toronto video production company he has run with Creative Director and Co-Founder Kyrill Lazarov since 2014. He also hosts Creatives Grab Coffee, a podcast on the business of video production.
Sources: System1, The Stars of Christmas 2025 and Festive Ad Tracker 2025 (accessed November 2026); System1, Is This the Greatest Christmas Ad of All Time? (accessed November 2026); LBB Online, System1 Reveals 2025 is a Record Breaking Christmas (accessed November 2026); Advanced Television, Amazon’s Joy Ride tops 2025 Xmas ads and Kevin the Carrot continues to deliver for Aldi (accessed November 2026); Kantar, Unwrapping Effectiveness (accessed November 2026); Retail Times and Marketing Week, Kantar Christmas 2025 coverage (accessed November 2026); About Amazon UK and Marketing Beat, Joy Ride (accessed November 2026); NBC News, Coca-Cola AI holiday ad coverage (accessed November 2026); Marketing Week and Grocery Gazette, Asda Grinchmas (accessed November 2026); The Grocer, Waitrose The Perfect Gift (accessed November 2026); Advertising Week, Heathrow Bears (accessed November 2026); Kroger, Operation: Gingerbread release (accessed November 2026); Prolific North, Aldi 2025 campaign (accessed November 2026); PetaPixel, A Critter Carol (accessed November 2026); Creative Salon, Cadbury Secret Santa (accessed November 2026); Retail Gazette, John Lewis 2025 (accessed November 2026); WestJet newsroom, 2025 Christmas Miracle (accessed November 2026); Travelpress, Air Canada Holiday Dreams Take Flight (accessed November 2026); LBB Online and Air Canada newsroom, earlier Air Canada holiday spots (accessed November 2026); CBC News and Adweek, WestJet Real-Time Giving (accessed November 2026); The Hershey Company, Christmas Bells (accessed November 2026); Retail Dive and Ads of the World, Walmart A Who Knew Carol (accessed November 2026); Famous Campaigns, Best Christmas Ads of 2026 (accessed November 2026).