Among grocery retailers, M&S’s Christmas ad triumphed over its rivals, with 41.5% of UK adults watching the ad from 1 November to 25 December.
In terms of ‘ad awareness’, the retailer beat Tesco (40.6%), Aldi (38.8%), Lidl (36.8%) and Asda (34.5%) to the chase, according to the latest research from YouGov.
M&S also led in the fashion and beauty sector, with a third (33.7%) of the nation viewing the brand’s fashion-themed festive ad. Boots (25%), TK Maxx (17%), JD Sports (13.9%) and Tu Clothing (11.2%) all trailed behind.
In the ‘general retail’ area John Lewis took first place for ad awareness (32.4%), with Amazon in second place (29.8%), Argos in third place (26.7%), and Apple (23.5%) and eBay (20.8%) following closely behind. Before 20 November John Lewis’s awareness sat below that of Amazon’s and Argos, but a surge from 21 November to 10 December saw the retailer rise above its rivals, peaking at 37.4%.
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Despite M&S’ success, it was in fact fast-food giant McDonald’s that had the highest ad awareness score during the Christmas period (44.1%).
Stepping away from the digital world, Amazon took top spot for ‘word-of-mouth’ exposure during the festive season, with 28.9% of UK adults talking about its ad with friends and family. Aldi also topped the grocery retailer list with a word-of-mouth exposure of 26.3%.
