This year’s top ads took many different paths in the pursuit of creative excellence, according to Cubery.
Tied in first place were McDonald’s new collaboration with The Grinch and the latest addition to Kmart’s embedded platform featuring simple but vibrant retail creatives.
In third place was TK Maxx with the re-airing of the retailer’s 2024 earworm “Shut Up”.
Senior consultant Wil Logan said this year’s top-performing festive ads were able to build a strong platform for themselves by ensuring the brand was front and centre.
“Kmart, Coca-Cola, and IGA all deployed entrenched assets to ensure the memories they left couldn’t have been mistaken for anyone else,” he said.
“Elsewhere, McDonald’s and Seek achieved this same outcome by making their brands the hero of the story.
“It’s a reminder that, whatever the strategy, by not treating the brand as a second-class citizen these advertisers then had the creative license to be more playful and to ultimately ensure they would be remembered for all the right reasons.”
Logan said UK advertisers typically lean more heavily on warmth and sentimentality during Christmas. However, Australian brands tend to adopt a more laidback approach.
“Kmart’s no-frills approach struck the perfect note in the current economic climate, McDonald’s tied its assets into a fun narrative that got people into the festive spirit and wider summer holidays, while Aldi’s now familiar quirkiness worked well to stand out and grab people’s attention,” he added.
