1. The Perfect Gift by “Waitrose”
Christmas ads have a habit of blending into one another: warm lighting, familiar tropes, and a rush to land the message before the skip button kicks in. Waitrose avoided that fate by going in the opposite direction. The Perfect Gift is a four-minute Christmas rom-com that behaves like a piece of entertainment, not a traditional supermarket spot. Starring Keira Knightley (our first love from Pirates of the Caribbean) and bringing back Phil from last year’s Sweet Suspicion, the film builds a self-contained story inside the Waitrose world, complete with genre nods and a plot that justifies its runtime. It feels closer to a streaming short than a seasonal ad and that’s precisely why it lands.
2. Spotify’s first TV campaign to promote Wrapped
Spotify Wrapped has long outgrown its role as a simple end-of-year summary, especially with so many other brands adopting the concept too. What began as a personalised data drop for millions of users is now a full-scale cultural moment, reliably flooding social feeds as listeners share their stats like digital horoscopes. This year, Spotify UK is pushing Wrapped even further into the mainstream with a three-minute primetime TV spot, backed by a series of pop-ups across the country featuring artists including Jade (with an in-person appearance), PinkPantheress, Central Cee and Lewis Capaldi, alongside a new “Wrapped Party” feature designed to turn individual listening data into a shared, live experience with friends.
We love the 80s- and 90s-inspired mixtape aesthetic that tap into real music culture rather than platform marketing, while the scale, from broadcast TV to artist-led IRL moments, cements Wrapped as an annual ritual, not just a product feature. For all the ongoing tension around streaming economics, Spotify deserves credit for creating a moment audiences actively anticipate and willingly amplify.
3. Google’s second festive feature!
Google is leaning hard into festive pop culture this year with a double-header holiday campaign that blends AI-powered shopping with full-blown nostalgia. Front and centre is its “try it on with Google” feature, promoted through a series of short films starring fashion and culture icons. The first spot sees Sarah Jessica Parker reprise a very familiar inner monologue as she searches for the perfect holiday dress, using Google’s virtual try-on tool to experiment with styles, silhouettes and, yes, multiple bows. Rolled out across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, the campaign also features Lindsey Lohan, Ashley Graham, Olivia Palermo, Hannah Bronfman and Lucien Laviscount, with Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union appearing in a 60-second spot landing just before Christmas.
We love this because it turns a genuinely useful piece of AI tech into something playful, recognisable and culturally fluent. Instead of explaining the feature, Google lets its cast demonstrate it in ways that feel native to their public personas, grounding innovation in entertainment rather than instruction.
This is the last “Campaigns we Loved” for this year, see you in 2026!
