UK 2024 Christmas campaign tracker

It’s that time of year – again. Many companies, from grocery stores to tech retailers to high street fashion outlets, are counting on Christmas to drive brand awareness, sales, and financial good cheer. YouGov’s Christmas campaign tracker explores how these businesses have been performing since the beginning of November. 

We’re kicking off our coverage with a look at grocery brands – many having released their festive ads already. And there’s a clear frontrunner: Marks & Spencer. The high street staple’s food brand has seen Ad Awareness rise from 28.4 to 44.6 since November 1: an increase of 16.2 points. Releasing its festive ad near the beginning of the month (November 4) won’t have hurt, but its success so far suggests that the ad is cutting through. 

Tesco records the second-highest Ad Awareness so far, although it has actually fallen slightly over the course of the month, from 38.4 to 37.4 (-1.0). Its Big Rival Sainsbury’s comes in fourth, having risen from 23.1 to 36.5 over November so far (+13.4) – suggesting that its BFG-starring spot has earned the notice of the UK public. Aldi’s Ad Awareness has remained relatively stable, going from 30.5 to 30.9 (+0.4), while Asda rounds out the top five with scores jumping from 18.8 to 29.5 (+10.7). Sixth-ranked Morrisons – which brought back its singing oven gloves for its 2024 campaign – has seen a similar jump from 18.2 to 26.8 (+8.6). Lidl comes in seventh, having seen its scores decline from 27.3 to 23.0 (-4.3), while Waitrose’s Ad Awareness jumped from 12.2 to 17.9 (+5.7). Iceland’s scores saw a similar improvement, rising from 11.6 to 17.1 (+5.5), while Ocado – who have not released a Christmas ad so far this year – saw scores slide from 8.4 to 6.7 

Next time we’ll focus on the general retail sector – including a look at how the long-awaited John Lewis ad is going down with the general public.