S4 Ep29: A Red Star Christmas 2025 - The Best Christmas Ads of 2025

EPISODE · Dec 9, 2025 · 50 MIN

S4 Ep29: A Red Star Christmas 2025 - The Best Christmas Ads of 2025

from That's What I Call Marketing

Which Christmas ads did Irish viewers love in 2025? In this special Christmas edition of That’s What I Call Marketing, Conor Byrne is joined by Ciara Reilly from Red C Research, Linda Bradley (Head of Planning, Diageo Ireland), and Marc Smith (Global Director of Insights & Analytics, Mark Anthony Brands) to reveal the Top 20 Christmas Ads in Ireland, as ranked by real consumers on the Red Star testing platform.We analyse the biggest festive campaigns of the season, including:Tesco, SuperValu, Lidl, Spar, Sky Mobile, An Post, Vodafone, Boots, Dunnes Stores, Home Store + More, M&S, Woodie’s, Eason, Aldi, Amazon, and Coca-Cola.Across the episode we explore:• Why some Irish Christmas ads performed far better than expected• The surprising gap between marketer opinion vs consumer reaction• What emotional storytelling gets right and wrong at Christmas• How branding, memory structures and fluent devices shaped the rankings• Why consistency helped brands stand out• The role of humour, reality, nostalgia and AI in this year’s festive campaignsWhether you work in marketing, advertising, strategy, media, or creative, this deep dive into the best Christmas ads of the year reveals what truly resonates with audiences and what doesn’t.🎄 Brands discussed: Tesco, SuperValu, Lidl, Spar, Sky Mobile, An Post, Vodafone, Boots, Dunnes Stores, Woodie’s, Home Store + More, M&S, Eason, Aldi, Amazon, Coca-Cola.📍 CHAPTERS03:03 The lowest ranked ads05:18 John Lewis debate emotional truth vs emotional fit07:41 Functional ads & the problem of “sameness”13:28 Sea Swim: why it keeps winning hearts15:27 Sky Mobile & the Roy Keane effect17:23 National Lottery: a new less fun direction21:25 An Post Tin: Man does the story need a new chapter?23:33 M&S Food: when style overtakes substance26:20 Home Store + More the surprise hit27:56 Coca-Cola Holidays Are Coming (AI version)30:56 Dunnes Stores Shine Bright: the craft that endures32:50 Aldi & Kevin the Carrot: did they need a 3 parter?36:00 Eason: an emotional standout38:56 Amazon: a global festive story returns41:54 Woodie’s crowned #1 in Ireland https://www.youtube.com/shorts/22prv5XcpSM44:50 The panel’s all-time favourite Christmas adsCheck out the Red Star Testing Platform https://redcresearch.com/product/red-star/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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S4 Ep29: A Red Star Christmas 2025 - The Best Christmas Ads of 2025

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