Buster the Boxer Dog has helped retail giant John Lewis regain its crown as king of the Christmas ad, according to a study by Opinium Research, who have once more analysed the nation’s favourite Christmas advertising campaigns.

The John Lewis advert was deemed the most enjoyable by the vast majority (85 per cent) of the population with twice as many UK adults favouring the exploits of the trampolining dog, over last year’s ‘Man on the Moon’ advert.

Other ads that have captured the public’s heart this Christmas include M&S’ dramatic Mrs. Claus campaign (79 per cent) and  Heathrow ‘s travelling teddy bears (74 per cent). However, Debenhams (38 per cent), Argos (35 per cent) and Asda (35 per cent) have all been received less favourably by UK shoppers.

Ikea appears to have struggled linking the brand to the creative, with only 47 per cent of audiences seeing it as an ad for Ikea. Meanwhile, Tesco was seen as the most consistent, with its continuation of the Ben Miller and Ruth Jones fronted campaign ; 84 per cent of audiences saying it was clearly a ‘Tesco’ ad.

However, on the whole despite the fanfare of the festive season, Christmas ads were not persuasive to get audiences in-store, only inspiring 26 per cent of people to shop more with the average brand. The adverts that were most likely to persuade people to change their shopping habits is Lidl’s ‘Homecoming’ campaign (36 per cent)

Steve Looney, Opinium Research, commented:  “John Lewis arguably jump-started the ‘Christmas Ad Renaisance’ by making their annual campaign an event in the festive calendar, so it feels appropriate that they have regained the top spot after what many consumers perceived as a misstep last year.   Time will only tell the extent to which these costly campaigns have an impact on in-store sales.  Whatever the cost, it cannot be disputed that a good Christmas advert goes beyond simple marketing and becomes a much loved and talked about part of the festive season.”

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