John Lewis’ Christmas campaign is the UK’s favourite advert with over 21,000 Twitter mentions, new social media data has revealed.
Data released by social media management and analytics company Sprout Social has found that ‘The Beginner’ Christmas advert from John Lewis received an enormous 367 million potential impressions on the platform.
Analysis by Sprout Social also found that, despite a strong start, Asda’s feel-good advert featuring Buddy the Elf quickly lost ground to John Lewis’ tear-jerking advertisement.
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Asda’s festive advert featuring Will Ferrell’s Buddy the Elf came in second with over 10,000 mentions and racking up nearly 140 million potential impressions.
The social media analytics company analysed Twitter traffic for the biggest retailers’ Christmas ads including John Lewis, M&S, Sainsburys, Aldi UK, Tesco and Asda between 1st and 16th November.
To date, these six retailers have received more than 683,000 likes, comments and shares since launching their respective ads, evidence of the enduring popularity of advertising on the festive calendar.
In total, John Lewis’ ‘The Beginner’ received 110,050 engagements, including 4,551 comments, 13,247 shares and 92,256 likes since its release.
By comparison, Asda’s ‘Have your Elf a Merry Christmas’ racked up 68,594 total engagements – breaking down into 2,410 comments, 6,027 shares and 61,149 likes.
According to the 2022 Sprout Social Index, company alignment with personal values is 74% more important to consumers than in 2021. This increase may help explain why John Lewis’ advert has achieved so much engagement and so quickly on social media.
“Authentic advertising continues to generate excellent return on investment, especially at Christmas. 81% of consumers in the UK and Ireland think it’s important for brands to raise awareness and take a stand on sensitive topics. Clearly this point of view has translated into social media traction for John Lewis,” general manager at Sprout Social, Gerard Murnaghan said.
He added: “When brands choose to take a stand on an issue or put a charitable cause at the heart of a campaign, it can inspire brand loyalty, influence purchase behavior and help them stand out from competitors.”
Murnaghan also said that as run-up to the holiday season continues, “brands can take note from John Lewis’ success for their own holiday campaigns.
“It is clear that when brands prioritise charitable giving and causes that are important to them it will resonate in the hearts of consumers.”
