Advertising to kids and teens at Christmas

Across media and social it’s hard to miss adults debating who has the best Christmas ad this year. From Mr Christmas himself, Micheal Bublé teaming up with Asda or Amazon spreading joy, the majority of the big retailers and brands have lent towards comedy and characters to secure families’ hearts, minds and Christmas spends this year.

From building their online wish lists or heading to the high street with their cash in hand, kids and teens have gone beyond influencing household spends to directing them. But have these ad spots engaged kids and teens?

In short – no. This week when asked one in five 7-14s hadn’t seen a single Christmas advert. So how do you reach kids and teens at Christmas?

Consistency is the Angel on Top of the Tree

Despite prompting our Trendspotter kids REALLY struggle to name Christmas ads they’ve seen. Kevin the Carrot and Coca Cola are the exceptions having stuck in the minds of a few. Both brands stood out in our omnibus poll with 4 in 10 of UK kids and teens reporting they have seen Aldi’s Christmas advert (42%) and 37% seeing Coca Cola.

These brands cleverly use Christmas consistency. Rather than dreaming up brand-new concepts, they utilise Kevin the Carrot or the Holidays are Coming Coca Cola van to build brand saliency. By staying consistent with their campaign elements, they have built up enough frequency that Gen Alpha and Gen Z recall seeing it even when they haven’t.

In fact, the most mentioned “Christmas ad” by our Trendspotters panels this year is Mariah Carey’s social video. Mariah has become Mrs Christmas personified and shared a timely, funny video which was shared widely across TikTok.

By staying consistent these brands (and people) not only have enough frequency of message to be memorable for kids and teens, they also tap into nostalgia. They hit the emotional button and instantly say – it’s Christmas!

An Ad Campaign Isn’t Just for Christmas

McDonald’s ad also saw huge levels of reported viewership by kids and teens, taking the top spot for most seen Christmas ad. But not a single Trendspotter mentioned it.

As shown by our Coolest Brands 2023 analysis, McDonald’s builds a strong connection with this audience through its bricks and mortar locations. Their accessibility means that kids and teens feel welcomed there – it is a brand for them. Therefore, their claim to have seen the Christmas ad is more likely to be driven by their affinity to the brand and affection for it overall rather than an actual view.

For brands wanting to engage this audience, those significant media spends could be repurposed to their retail spaces. Despite living digital lives, kids and teens also love bricks and mortar, they thrive on the tangible experience of exchanging physical money for a purchase. Equally they love spending time with their family and friends, so by investing in physical and accessible retail spaces that welcome them, retailers could win the hearts and wallets of kids and teens for far beyond just Christmas.

Ultimately Christmas adverts are not engaging kids and teens despite the huge budgets. Is this the end of an era? It’s too soon to call. But if you’d like to know more sign up to our monthly newsletter The Neuron to get our freshest insights direct to your inbox or get in touch and speak to the team about your brand or business need.