London, UK. Ipsos in the UK has published the final results of our annual Race to Christmas campaign. Over the past six weeks, our comprehensive weekly analysis has provided invaluable insights into what festive advertisements are resonating most with the public – and now the final results are in!
Key findings – week 6:
· Waitrose crowned the nation’s favourite ad: Waitrose’s ad continues to lead as the nation’s favourite for the third consecutive week, with 14% of respondents naming it spontaneously. John Lewis closely follows at 13%, and Aldi retains a strong third place at 8%.
· Aldi overtakes Waitrose for ad recognition: Aldi’s ‘It’s a 24 Carat Christmas for Kevin and Katie’ is the most recognised ad, recognised by 55% of participants from de-branded visuals, surpassing Waitrose’s ‘The Perfect Gift’ at 53%. Amazon’s ‘Joy Ride’ also surged ahead, reaching 52% recognition, an impressive 10%pt increase from the previous week.
· Aldi takes the crown in branded recognition: Aldi continues to lead, with 40% recognising and correctly associating the ad with the brand. Amazon follows with 38%, marking a notable 8% rise from week five, and securing a second-place podium finish. Meanwhile, Waitrose and ASDA tie for third place at 34%.
· Disney + makes an emotional impact: Disney + ‘A Lifetime of Great Stories’ has a strong result even if the overall recognition is behind some of the other racers. They have the highest score when asking respondents if the ad ‘is for people like me’ and ‘makes me feel good about the brand’, with 55% and 54% respectively.
· Grinch confusion continues – but is improving: In previous weeks we’ve seen misattribution with respondents wrongly associating McDonald’s ad to be ASDA’s due to both ads featuring the Grinch. While this has improved from last week, 31% are still getting the ads mixed up.
· M&S ‘Traffic Jamming’ score highly on the food within the ad: M&S have scored the highest on “the food looked delicious”. Integrating the Less Healthy Food regulation compliant party food alongside Dawn French in party mode in a surprising context has worked well.
Commenting on the findings, Senior Creative Excellence Director at Ipsos, Samira Brophy said:
“In the final week of the Ipsos Race to Christmas, Amazon’s Joy Ride has sledded into third place with one of the biggest week-on-week increases in branded recognition we have seen in the race so far. The re-use of the 2023 ad with strong media support has worked Christmas magic for the brand.
The average recognition of the 2025 Christmas lead ads is in line with what we would expect from 250-500 TVRS worth of spend. It just shows you how busy and competitive the time of year is, and brands adopting a Misfit mindset to creative effectiveness across different channels over time are leading the way. This includes the use of episodic storytelling, refreshing and re-using ads, and one of the most effective this year – subverting Christmas traditions without falling out of step with the festive spirit and the mood of the nation.”
Technical note:
- For media queries, please contact MacKenzie Horn at MacKenzie.Horn@Ipsos.com
- For the full findings, please visit the Race to Christmas webpage.
- Source: Ipsos Fast Facts. Week 6 data: n= 300, UK Nat rep sample, fielded on 12th December 2025.
- Full charts available upon request – please reach out to MacKenzie to discuss.
