Woolworths recycles 2024 Christmas ad, redirects marketing budget
Meanwhile, Coles debuts new Christmas spot and Coca-Cola taps AI again.
The carrot returns: Woolies says it has redirected funds it would have used for a new TVC
Viewers were left with more déjà vu than Christmas cheer when Woolworths unwrapped its 2025 festive campaign this week, opting to revive last year’s “Make This Christmas a Classic” ad instead of producing new creative.
The supermarket giant told Mumbrella it has redirected funds from creating “a new large-scale TV advert” to other measures focused on cost-of-living relief.
The decision lands as arch-rival Coles debuts a fresh Christmas campaign, alongside a host of other major Australian retailers — including Woolworths’ own sister brand, Big W.
In a statement to Mumbrella, a Woolworths spokesperson said the retailer was “focused on investing directly where it matters most to our customers.”
“Our research shows that while they’re more optimistic this festive season than in recent years, most are still wanting simple, budget-conscious celebrations,” the spokesperson said. “This year we made the decision to redirect funds from a new large-scale TV advert to further deliver the value and convenience customers expect from us at Christmas.”
Woolworths also noted that Amazon has re-released its global “Joy Ride” Christmas ad from 2023.
First released in 2024, Woolies’ Christmas ad — from M&C Saatchi Group’s bespoke agency Greenhouse Collective — is set in a picturesque rural town, where a young girl and her neighbours build a giant glowing carrot to guide Santa and his reindeer.
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The ad returned in exactly the same form to television screens and YouTube on November 2, officially marking Woolworths’ Christmas campaign for 2025.
It also marked the last Christmas campaign by long-serving Woolworths chief marketing officer Andrew Hicks, who left the retailer in June.
Coles brings a basset hound to the Christmas table
Meanwhile, Coles has rolled out a brand-new festive spot, created by its bespoke shop Smith Street, which is part of DDB Melbourne.
The ad leans into the cute factor, following a basset hound — played by three different dogs named Archie, Monty, and Lola — wearing reindeer antlers on a quest for Christmas treats.
The hound goes door-to-door, glimpsing neighbours’ celebrations along the way, each time eyeing the festive platters with hungry anticipation.
It’s only when he returns home that the family matriarch smiles and sets aside a special bowl just for him.
“We feel incredibly privileged to be part of so many Aussie Christmases and grateful to help families and friends come together to make their celebrations special,” Coles general manager brand and marketing Kate Bailey said in a press release.
In a similar vein to Woolworths, Bailey referenced the retailer’s aim to showcase its “easy and affordable products.”
Coles added that the campaign features an omnichannel strategy, including owned, paid, and earned media channels.
Psembi Kinstan, chief creative officer of Smith Street, meanwhile, noted the Christmas ad’s “warmth and heart.”
“In some ways, the basset hound is all of us,” he said. “He understands that Christmas is all about sharing delicious food with the ones you love most.”
Coca-Cola goes back to AI
On a global level, Coca-Cola has returned to artificial intelligence for its festive campaign, a year after its first AI-generated ad drew criticism from the marketing and advertising community.
The new Holidays Are Coming spot sticks to the brand’s classic Christmas formula, featuring red delivery trucks rolling across a snow-covered landscape.
This year, the ad spotlights a geographically disparate menagerie of critters — including polar bears, hedgehogs, badgers, penguins, rabbits, squirrels, and even a typically tropical sloth — as they join in the festive celebrations.
In a comment to the Wall Street Journal, chief marketing officer Manolo Arroyo said the AI-driven production was cheaper and faster than a typical non-AI shoot.
“Before, when we were doing the shooting and all the standard processes for a project, we would start a year in advance,” Arroyo told the masthead. “Now, you can get it done in around a month.”
Thinkerbell founder Adam Ferrier also added his perspective to the use of AI in advertising, writing on Linkedin: “I can’t see why The Coca-Cola Company would ever shoot trucks or polar bears in camera again. For them AI is here now.
“AI production will be to in-camera production, as digital cameras is to film cameras. Both are currently viable options, but we are in a world of change – but it’s only going in one direction…. quickly.”
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