Research : John Lewis voted best ad and clearest brand in the Christmas ad battle

OnePulse survey shows, however, that it’s Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi that will benefit from our festive spending

Despite topping the survey for the people’s favourite Christmas advert, John Lewis loses out to Tesco as top destination for our Christmas spending, but Aldi is consistently high ranking. The survey undertaken by OnePulse, a real-time engagement tool, also reveals that John Lewis and Aldi, who released a spoof of the formers advert, best stayed true to its brand values. TK Maxx, Warburtons and Debenhams were voted least true to brand.

As Christmas adverts hit our TV screens and dominate conversation on social media, OnePulse undertook research to show which brands showed their true brand to consumers and if that will translate to seasonal sales. OnePulse is a tool that allows brands to test their marketing concepts and understand consumer opinions in minutes.

The Pulse showed that 47% of consumers agreed the John Lewis advert was true to its brand values, while only 18% thought that House of Fraser, whose advert has met with mixed reviews on social media, stayed on message for the brand. However, despite its popularity and brand clarity, only just over a quarter of those questioned (27%) stated that they would be spending any of their Christmas money with John Lewis.

“There is no avoiding the discussion around Christmas adverts, but we wanted to see how well that was translating for the brand itself, and into sales. The festive period is a key time for retailers, and thousands of pounds are invested into the sales campaigns.

But what it all boils down it is whether or not consumers can relate the campaigns to the brand they know and where they will spend their money,” said Nick Walter, Director of Marketing at OnePulse.

“Brands need to be clear about their goals, and testing concepts as they are developed can be a real benefit to making sure seasonal campaigns are going to resonate with an audience and, crucially, translate to the bottom line.”

Aldi not only ranked as second favourite for their advert spoofing John Lewis, but were also polled as second best (according to 41%) at staying true to the brand. Furthermore, they will see spending from just over a third (32%) of OnePulse respondents.

The supermarkets collectively came out best, with Sainsbury’s ranking 3^rd for popularity, and staying true to brand as well as spending destination. Tesco, who only ranked 6^th in the popularity polls for their advert, topped the chart for retailer most likely to see festive spending for 37% of respondents.