‘Tis the Season: 6 Best Christmas Commercials of All Time

Let inspiration inform your next holiday advertisement. Here are 6 of the best Christmas commercials of all time and the key takeaways you can apply to your next project:

M&Ms’ mascots star alongside famed Santa Claus in this 1996 TV commercial for a nostalgic, light-hearted ad. When it aired, the Christmas ad established the M&M’s mascots as holiday icons on par with Santa Claus himself. Although no more than 20 seconds in length, the Christmas commercial quickly became a hit. In fact, M&Ms followed up with a sequel 20 years later, revealing what happened after Santa fainted.

Christmas Commercial Takeaway: Play into nostalgia and cultural icons in your holiday ad. Whether you partner with Santa Claus or other beloved characters like Rudolph, the Grinch, or Charlie Brown, connecting your brand to these familiar faces can create a share-worthy moment. Make your Christmas ad light-hearted and humorous to leave a lasting impression.

Hershey’s Kisses Christmas commercial proved that the simplest of ads can win the hearts of viewers. The commercial features Kisses acting as bells that chime along to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” a classic tune everyone knows. Since its release in 1989, the company has modernized the TV commercial numerous times, making it a familiar ad in households nationwide. 

Christmas Commercial Takeaway: Sometimes less is more when it comes to TV commercials. Don’t be afraid to tone down your ad, set it to a classic Christmas jingle, and let your product or service take center stage. Christmas tunes are the perfect way to tap into the nostalgia of the holiday season, so take advantage of this concept when planning your next campaign. In TV advertising, a little bit goes a long way with viewers. 

Many marketers believe that more noise, flashy animations, and busy screens are what capture viewers’ attention. However, Corona’s Christmas palm tree commercial, which first aired in 1990, titled “O Tannenpalm,” proves this theory wrong. The commercial, although over 30 years old, remains a favorite among viewers. Featuring a cabana overlooking the ocean with palm trees beside it, the only noise happening is the crickets chirping and someone whistling along to “Oh Christmas Tree,” probably while cracking open a beer. The Christmas commercial transports viewers to a peaceful oasis, positioning Corona as a companion for a quiet night.

Christmas Commercial Takeaway: Create a brand persona that you can utilize in holiday TV commercials. When choosing a location for Corona’s “O Tannenpalm” commercial, advertising executive Mike Rogers knew Mexico perfectly embodied the brand’s personality—a laid-back, everyday-vacation vibe that felt unmistakably like Corona. How can you incorporate your brand’s personality into an upcoming Christmas campaign? Whether it’s the location you choose to film a commercial or how you write a caption for an Instagram post, infuse your brand’s persona to make it a classic hit.

The Budweiser Clydesdales are iconic, having appeared in several Super Bowl commercials since 1986. Originating in 1933 to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition, the Clydesdales rapidly became Budweiser’s beloved mascots. One memorable feature of them is in Budweiser’s 1987 Christmas Clydesdales commercial. The TV ad doesn’t even feature the product itself; instead, it simply showcases the Clydesdales and the warm, welcoming Christmas spirit. 

Christmas Commercial Takeaway: Create a mascot for your brand that you can utilize across your marketing campaign. Use a mascot that’s memorable and evokes the holiday nostalgia. Don’t feel the need to show your product; instead, let the mascot and ad speak for themselves. Once Christmas is over, continue to use the mascot to maintain instant recognition among viewers.

No one does Christmas better than the Coca-Cola polar bear. Coke has been using polar bears in their marketing materials since 1922, with the first polar bear TV commercial airing in 1993. Titled “The Christmas Party,” Coke’s 2005 Christmas commercial features animated polar bears watching an aurora borealis party, likely fueled by all the Coke they’ve been sipping. Eventually, the bears are invited to join in, brought together over a shared bottle of Coca-Cola. The ad is an endearing reminder of holidays (and Coke), bringing everyone together, regardless of their differences. 

Christmas Commercial Takeaway: Infuse your brand’s values in a holiday-themed advertisement. Across decades of advertising, Coke has returned to one central theme again and again: the power of bringing people together. Even in their holiday commercials, their value for community shines through, inviting viewers to join in on the fun. When brainstorming your next Christmas commercial, plan it around your brand’s core values. That way, your message won’t just be festive. It’ll feel authentic, memorable, and true to who you are.

Over recent years, Apple has won the hearts of countless viewers with its modern Christmas commercials. Apple’s 2019 commercial “The Surprise” stands out for showing how meaningful it can be to do something special for someone you love during the holiday season. In it, a mom, dad, and their two daughters visit the woman’s father for Christmas, and he does not seem very excited about their arrival. Viewers soon learn that he recently lost his wife, and the grief is weighing heavily on him. Throughout the story, the young girls often retreat with the iPad, which appears to be just a way to entertain themselves or pass the time. In the end, however, they present their grandpa with a heartfelt digital gift. They use the iPad to take pictures of old photographs around his home and compile everything into a video to share at the end of the trip. Naturally, he and the viewers are moved to tears.

Although the Christmas commercial runs just over three minutes, it still captures the attention and hearts of viewers, proving that a well-told story can resonate deeply, no matter its length.

Christmas Commercial Takeaway: Tell a holiday-centric story with your product or service. Instead of relying on generic festive imagery, build a narrative that highlights how your offering enhances real holiday moments. Whether it solves a seasonal problem, brings people together, or creates a memory worth holding onto, let your product or service play a natural role in the story.

From Hershey’s simple jingle commercial to Apple’s heartfelt ad built upon a story, what inspiration will you take with you from these holiday advertisements? Let these Christmas commercials influence your creativity when brainstorming your upcoming campaign. Most importantly, let the holiday spirit shine through your commercial, evoking nostalgia, warmth, and a sense of coming together.

If you feel inspired by one of these Christmas commercials, but don’t know where to start with creating your own, let Avalanche Studios help out. Our award-winning team has expertise in crafting scripts that sell, filming commercials that perfectly capture a brand’s essence, and editing footage together to create a holiday-themed ad that’s sure to stick with your audience. Request a quote from our Utah-based team to learn how we can help you make the next best Christmas commercial.