With retail’s golden quarter upon us, the fashion industry is making sure that customers are getting into the Christmas spirit with the annual launch of holiday-themed campaigns. From hand-drawn and stop-motion animations to celebrity gift advisers, brands and retailers from Primark to Dior are dazzling customers this year.
John Lewis: ‘Don’t give up on giving’
John Lewis launched its 20th Christmas advert on 3 November and, as every year, it is a delight. The three-minute film by Saatchi & Saatchi stars Dame Kristin Scott Thomas as Gloria, a grandmother hosting Christmas for her family. Unsure of her grandchildren’s tastes, Gloria leans towards giving cash. Then Pickles, a toy dog from her own childhood, voiced by Paul Whitehouse, comes to life and helps her create a decorated “Gran Cave” instead.
M&S: Santa goes undercover
For the first time since 2017, M&S has combined food, fashion, home and beauty in one Christmas campaign. Santa, played by James Norton, is convinced by Amandaland star Lucy Punch’s Mrs Claus to shave his beard and exchange his red suit for a Christmas jumper, letting him experience Christmas without being recognised. His journey takes in getting dressed up, preparing the Christmas table, buying gifts and decorating the home, giving each category a part in the story.
Dior: ‘Christian Dior’s Night in Color’
Directed by Sylvain Chomet and featuring traditional hand-drawn animation, Dior’s film is set at 30 Avenue Montaigne, the brand’s original headquarters and couture house in Paris, in 1949. An urgent call from Hollywood sends Christian Dior and his atelier into action to make a dress for film star legend Marlene Dietrich. Robert Pattinson narrates, Louis Garrel voices Dior, Camille Cottin voices Dietrich and Rihanna voices the Lucky Star, with Josh O’Connor, LaKeith Stanfield, Nine d’Urso, Greta Lee and Nadia Tereszkiewicz completing the cast.
Prada: ‘Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand’
Prada places Chen Haoyu, Luther Ford, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink inside illustrated winter landscapes and storybook scenes. Artists led by animator John Pomeroy drew the environments, while Glen Luchford photographed the cast, matching lighting and perspective to the illustrations. The campaign runs as stills and short films, drawing on old Hollywood, fables and animal characters, with the house Prada framing the campaign as a celebration of craft and process.
Barbour: ‘Warm Wishes from Barbour’
Barbour has reunited with Wallace & Gromit for a second year, after two years of Shaun the Sheep ads. The film, directed by Steve Harding-Hill in Aardman’s stop-motion style, follows a snowy walk powered by Wallace’s Walk-o-matic invention. Wallace gives Gromit a wax dog coat. When the invention malfunctions and throws Wallace into the snow, Gromit gives him a knitted jumper. Shaun and his flock make a cameo.
JD: ‘Create the New’
JD’s campaign, launched globally on 6 November under its ‘Forever Forward’ platform, pitches the end of the year as a time to build momentum rather than slow down. At the centre of the campaign is a London-shot hero film, soundtracked by Grace and Paul Oakenfold’s ‘Not Over Yet’. The UK cast includes electronic artists Sammy Virji, Josh Baker and Chris Stassy, and emerging DJ Kai Saunders as well as singer-songwriter Skye Newman and streamers Bov Boys. “We’re celebrating a generation that is making its own opportunities and taking culture forward,” said Paul Orange, Managing Director at JD.
Sports Direct: ‘Unwrap Potential’
Sports Direct unveiled its first-ever brand-exclusive Christmas ad with Nike earlier this month, titled ‘Unwrap Potential’ and starring Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland and British rapper and songwriter, Aitch. The campaign is centred around AI Athlete Intelligence, with an elite team of sporting and ‘cultural’ stars including Northampton Saints and England rugby star Henry Pollock, Olympic Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith and England women’s football team captain Leah Williamson, all adding their expertise to spotlight gifts for sports enthusiasts.
Primark: ‘Style Your Season’
Primark has launched its 2026 Christmas campaign, ‘Style Your Season’, showcasing festive fashion, matching family pyjamas, homeware and gifting across more than 500 stores worldwide. The campaign spans partywear and winter wardrobe staples, alongside seasonal products for the home. This year also marks Primark’s biggest-ever festive pyjama collection, with matching styles available for adults, children and dogs. Coleen Rooney’s By Coleen partywear range also returns for a third season.
TK Maxx: ‘Festive Crossing’
TK Maxx has turned the clocks back to November 2023 with a new ‘Festive Farm’-themed Christmas advert that brings its ‘Spoil All Your Loved Ones For Less’ message to life for 2026. Created by Wieden+Kennedy London, directed by Gary Freedman and set to Ciara’s ‘Goodies’, it sees the return of some familiar farmyard characters, alongside new feathered faces, as the farmer and his wife make their way home from a TK Maxx shopping trip in a red truck with bags full of gifts in the back.
Very: ‘That’s the Very Thing’
Very, the online retailer operated by The Very Group has unveiled its latest festive campaign, ‘That’s the Very Thing’, showcasing the breadth of its online department store. Fronted by an expanded cast of animated flamingos, the 30-second hero film takes viewers into a dream gift world inspired by Very’s festive offering. The campaign, which uses a hybrid CGI and AI-assisted production process, was also the retailer’s highest-rated ad according to System1.
Seasalt: ‘Cornwall My Home’
At the heart of Seasalt’s Christmas campaign is a short film shot in Charlestown Harbour, featuring Femmes de la Mer, a 15-strong all-female Cornish sea shanty group, who welcome the festive season in song with ‘Cornwall My Home’. For Seasalt the campaign explores the feeling of homecoming, with the film also featuring lanterns handmade by local artist Imogen Bone. This is the Femmes de la Mer’s third Seasalt campaign this year, with the film created by the in-house team led by Creative Director Katy Pople. It marks Seasalt’s first time on Channel 4, Netflix and Amazon Prime.
White Stuff: ‘Write Christmas’
White Stuff’s campaign, launched earlier this month, encourages customers to put their phones down for handwritten cards, family recipes and homemade decorations, and spotlights The Sunday Letter Project, founded by Cheltenham-based couple Rebecca and Karl. As part of the campaign the brand will host art workshops in selected stores this December, run with Create, White Stuff’s charity partner, which uses the creative arts to connect, inspire and upskill society’s most vulnerable people. “It’s about the small, thoughtful gestures that make Christmas feel personal,” said Tracey Verghese, Managing Director at White Stuff.
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Debenhams: ‘Christmas. For Everyone’
Online department store Debenhams launched its Christmas 2026 advert in mid-October, one the first major retailer to do so, with a star-studded cast featuring Emily Atack, Mathew Horne, Kym Marsh and music icon Gabrielle. A nostalgic four-minute film, under the title of ‘Christmas. For Everyone’ marked the next chapter of Debenhams’ ‘The Village’ platform and “celebrates community, connection and unexpected romance”. The early launch forms part of Debenhams’ wider ambition to establish itself as a leading destination for Christmas shopping, building brand awareness and driving consideration across fashion, beauty and homeware throughout the festive trading period.
Harrods: ‘Where the stars align’
Harrods unveiled Where the Stars Align, its first wholly in-house Christmas campaign in several years, combining handcrafted displays at its Knightsbridge flagship with a rolling programme of luxury brand activations throughout November and December. The campaign follows a run of festive tie-ups that handed the season to a single luxury house, including Dior in 2022 and Loro Piana in 2024. This year, brands appear under Harrods’ own creative direction across 24 Christmas windows, featuring pieces from Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Valentino, Ralph Lauren and Balmain.
ASOS: The Hotline
ASOS has unveiled its first dedicated Christmas partywear and gifting campaign, which builds on its own research that customers are seeking more styling advice. At the heart of the campaign sits the retro-inspired hero film, which features a star-studded cast seeking expert style advice to find the right look or gift for the festive season. The Hotline concept builds on the retailer’s own research, which found that 68% said knowing what to buy was easier than knowing how to wear it. A third had abandoned a purchase because they could not picture how to wear it.