This season has brought about some particularly innovative Christmas campaigns. So which brands have come out on top, and will their initiatives help increase ROI during the holiday shopping frenzy?

We love Pret A Manger’s campaign this year, which acts as a reminder for the plight of homelessness at this time of year. In their heart-warming 5-minute video entitled “Open Doors”, Pret sets out to explain its Apprenticeship scheme through the stories of three of its graduates, who were given opportunities at the company following a period of hardship living rough on the streets of London. The video celebrates these three case studies, who have since gone on to receive permanent positions at the firm, while one is now a chef at the capital’s prestigious Landmark Hotel. We love the fact that this campaign is not directly self-promotional- while aimed to attract potential employees, it simultaneously wins over the hearts of its consumer audience. Interestingly, the video was first created to be shown internally in order to explain to staff how the apprenticeship scheme works. However, Pret realised that they had the opportunity to engage customers with this too, especially during the holiday season when our focuses turn to the act of giving. As a result, the initiative has been extended offline too, with in-store hanging decorations, window displays, and on its paper bags too. Furthermore, fifty pence from every Christmas sandwich sold and ten pence from every soup sold contribute to Pret’s Foundation Trust which provides funding for the programme.

We of course had to mention John Lewis’s infamous Christmas ad, “Buster the Boxer” which stole the show once again. Beautifully executed, the company’s video from Adam&Eve DDB depicts the night before Christmas, where a weary father finally manages to erect a garden trampoline for his daughter in time to present it to her on Christmas Day. During the night, a group of animals including foxes, badgers and squirrels break into the trampoline, and start jumping up and down. They are enviously watched on by the family’s boxer dog, Buster, who looks longingly at all the fun being had. On Christmas morning however, Buster finally gets his chance to try out the trampoline, and bolts out of the house and onto the apparatus, much to the surprise of his owners. The video ends with a fitting caption, “Gifts that everyone will love”, making for a sweet and light-hearted tale. We like the fact that John Lewis also experimented with its overall digital strategy for this campaign, for the first time utilising Snapchat. The company decided to create a custom filter with a “Buster the Boxer” overlay for those using the platform, while this feature will be available at its retail locations too, should customers wish to take pictures in-store. Secondly, users were also able to add custom-designed Twitter stickers surrounding the campaign, including these in their tweet images.

Our final favourite campaign also featured CGI animals, this time in the form of two teddy bears. Heathrow Airport’s Christmas ad has got to be one of our top picks for its endearing content, execution, and little twist at the end. Created by Havas London, the video, entitled “Coming Home for Christmas” shows a male and female teddy-bear couple returning to the UK for Christmas, and making their way through the Arrivals sections of the airport. In the final scene situated in the Arrivals hall, we see the teddy bears suddenly transforming into human grandparents, who are loving met by their grandchildren. This video certainly has the “Aw!” factor, and has resulted in a huge amount of success for Heathrow, having been viewed over 2 million times since its release on November 14^th. Facebook and YouTube shares have also exceeded 350,000, showing far-reaching appeal, and making it one of Heathrow’s most celebrated ads to date.

Which Christmas campaigns have been your favourites this year? And are there any themes you would like to see more of in brands’ seasonal advertisements? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.