Emotional tracking says Gogglebox and Coca-Cola's Christmas collab is most engaging ad of the season
A film showing the cast of Channel 4's Gogglebox reacting to Coca-Cola's much-anticipated and annual 'Holidays are Coming' ad was found to be the UK’s most engaging spot of the season, according to facial recognition data from Realeyes.
Coca Cola's Holidays Are Coming is the most engaging Christmas ad
The agency tested 55 of the top Christmas ads to see which ones evoked the most attention – and more importantly – emotion from viewers.
The twist on Coke's classic film, which showed families on their sofas chatting about the ad, trumped Vodafone, John Lewis and McDonald's to claim the crown.
The top ten spots were populated by the following brands.
1. Coca-Cola: Gogglebox on 'Holidays are coming'
2. Vodafone: 'A Christmas Love Story'
3. McDonald's: 'Carrot stick Christmas'
4. M&S: 'Paddington and the Christmas Visitor'
5. Currys/PC World: 'Merry Techmas'
6. H Samuel: 'Beautiful Christmas Gifts'
7. Waitrose: 'Christmas together'
8. Heathrow: 'Bears Christmas'
9.Pandora: 'Do Get What You Wish For'
10. Tesco: 'Turkey, Every Which Way'
Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, Tesco all opted for portraying typical household situations which Realeyes speculated found leverage due to audiences due to their “more honest insight into the real-life nature of Christmas”.
Mihkel Jäätma, chief executive of Realeyes, said: “Whilst the hype around Christmas ads has now become a national pastime, it’s sometimes forgotten that their job is to help sell more products and people’s emotional response plays a big part in where they decide to shop.
“This year saw advertisers trying to be more authentic by using real-life situations, humour and romance to relate to people, which could be seen as a way to cheer them up via universal themes after what’s been another divisive and turbulent year.”
John Lewis, and 'Moz the Monster' placed 17th after taking the crown in 2016 with 'Buster the Boxer'.
The study involved Realeyes measuring the emotional reactions of 3,300 people.