John Lewis sleighs the competition with its Christmas 2024 advert, Asda and Marks and Spencer also performing well

Research from AdTech firm, Quantcast, shows John Lewis' latest Christmas ad, The Gifting Hour, helped increase the retailer's UK addressable audience by 32% in November 2024, compared to the benchmark taken in September this year.

Asda’s The Gnomes of Christmas ad came in a close second, with an increase of 27%, while the M&S offering, which sees a young girl bring her family together using a magic snow globe, resulted in a 26% increase.

With Advertising Association and WARC data estimating ad spend will reach £10.5 billion this holiday season, UK supermarkets will be pleased to see their campaigns have already caused a significant increase in brand exposure across the open internet.

• John Lewis, The Gifting Hour - 32% increase

• Asda, The Gnomes of Christmas - 27% increase

• M&S, Christmas Starts Here - 26% increase

• Morrisons, The Greatest Show at Home - 23% increase

• Iceland, That’s Why Santa Goes to Iceland - 21% increase

• Tesco, Helping Feed Your Christmas Spirit - 19% increase

• Waitrose, Sweet Suspicion: A Waitrose Mystery - 19% increase

• Aldi, Get Into The Christmas Spirit with Kevin The Carrot - 18% increase

• Sainsbury’s, The Big Friendly Christmas - 17% increase

• Lidl, A Magical Christmas - 15% increase

Amit Kotecha, CMO at Quantcast, says: “For many, the festive season truly begins when the John Lewis Christmas advert hits our screens. Our data reveals that the anticipation and investment behind these campaigns have undeniably paid off. The 2024 advert, the most successful yet, solidifies the brand's influence in defining the moment the holiday spirit officially arrives.”

“With just two weeks until Christmas, there’s still an opportunity for retailers to boost visibility and awareness for their brands. It will be interesting to see if any major brands choose to ramp up spending in specific channels to claim a bigger slice of the (mince) pie this holiday season.”

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AdTech was a key focus area at the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, Scala, CADS, 3D Cloud, Brightpearl by Sage’s Lightning 50, Business France, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended last month’s gathering.