Analysis: Coca-Cola Xmas ads ‘exceptional’ effectiveness
November 8, 2023
System1, the creative effectiveness platform, has revealed that both of Coca-Cola’s adverts this Christmas have achieved ‘exceptional’ effectiveness rankings, with Holidays are Coming securing the highest possible Star Rating of 5.9.
System1’s 1-5 Star scale predicts commercial effectiveness by measuring people’s emotional response to ads and the intensity of their response, with just 1 per cent of adverts securing a score of 5-Stars and above (exceptional).
Coca-Cola released its 2023 offering, The World Needs More Santas, with the kindness-themed advert scoring an exceptional 5.3. Running alongside the new advert this year will be Coca-Cola’s classic Holidays are Coming. First broadcast in 1995, the advert’s maximum score both reinforces its status as arguably the most iconic and timeless Christmas advert ever, and is further evidence that advertising wear-out is a myth.
Holidays are Comingis set to air in the UK on November 10th. Each year the creative can very slightly differ, and as the 2023 version has not yet aired, System1 tested the last version to air in the UK (2020).
Coca-Cola has been the second-best performing festive advertiser of the last three years, with its adverts averaging 5.6.
Jon Evans, Chief Customer Officer at System1, commented: “Every year the Christmas trucks roll for Coke and every year Holidays are Coming scores 5-Stars. In fact it’s the yardstick of Christmas advertising. How many new ads will match or beat Coke’s annual classic? This year Holidays are Coming has hit the maximum possible 5.9-Stars, underlining what a phenomenal asset it is for Coke and the power of re-investing, again and again, in great creative. As System1’s research proves, wear out is very much a myth. The ad hasn’t aired yet so the score doesn’t reflect any tweaks Coca-Cola might have made to their creative this time, but in past years it’s been identical. The higher score means the public are in a particularly festive mood this year, and brands that have put their money on traditional themes and Christmas magic should see ads do well.
“One example of a brand doing that is… Coca-Cola! Holidays are Coming is such a hit they don’t strictly need to make a new Christmas ad. But they usually do anyway, and this year’s ad, The World Needs More Santas, gets them a second 5-Star success. At 5.3-Stars it’s on track to be one of the top new Christmas ads this year, and its vision of a world where everyone is Father Christmas is funny, original, and right on target for 2023’s audiences, who want some good old-fashioned Merry in their Christmas this year. Decking the halls in Coca-Cola red won’t hurt them either. It’s a double whammy of 5-Star ads which make this Coke’s best ever Christmas from a Test Your Ad perspective,” concluded Evans.