The best Christmas ads of 2025

Including some of the best campaigns you won't have seen on TV

Christmas ads have become one of our great modern traditions - as expected as the first mince pie of the season and almost as divisive as when to put the tree up.

They drop every year like festive missiles, each one vying to land the emotional punch that gets the whole country talking.

But 2025 hasn’t played by the usual rules.

Instead of the familiar primetime tear-jerkers dominating living rooms across the UK, this year’s most powerful Christmas adverts have come from unexpected places - social media drops, cinema spots and YouTube uploads you’ve probably scrolled past without realising you’d just missed a masterpiece.

And yes, the biggest shock of all: John Lewis is nowhere to be seen.

The brands stealing the spotlight this year aren’t the traditional festive heavyweights - but the ones quietly dropping some of the most imaginative, emotional and surprisingly brilliant campaigns of the season.

Here are the best Christmas ads of 2025, including some you might have missed… but absolutely shouldn’t.

1. Samsung — A Friend for Christmas

This year’s most surprising - and strongest - entry comes from Samsung. Their film follows Laura, a young girl struggling after a house move, who escapes into her imagination with her invisible friend, Milo.

With help from her Grandad and Galaxy AI’s Drawing Assist on the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, Milo is brought to life on Christmas morning. It’s tender, beautifully executed and far more emotional than anyone expected from a tech brand.

Samsung leans into the idea of imagination as a superpower - and absolutely nails it.

2. Waitrose — The Perfect Gift

Waitrose goes for warmth over weeping this year with a mini rom-com starring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson.

A supermarket meet-cute at the cheese counter spirals into an endearing flurry of festive food and awkward, British charm. It’s light, cosy and plays like a Christmas film you’d happily put on after dinner.

A simple, sweet reminder that not every ad needs to make you cry.

3. Save the Children — The One Delivery that Matters

Save the Children delivers the year’s most sobering message, reframing the idea of “Christmas deliveries” entirely.

What looks like a festive truck convoy is revealed to be life-saving aid headed to children in crisis zones. The juxtaposition is sharp, moving and impossible to ignore.

A powerful reminder of what truly matters at this time of year.