Spending on highly-anticipated Christmas adverts in the UK is hitting record highs. Advertisers are projected to spend £10.5 billion over the festive season, according to industry trade body the Advertising Association and data provider WARC. Films have already been launched by the likes of Aldi, Marks & Spencer, Boots and Sainsburys. The record spending on campaigns by retailers hoping to stand out and attract Christmas shoppers is an almost 8% increase from the £9.7bn spent last year. Excluding the post-pandemic recovery year of 2021 the rise will be the biggest since records began in 1982. James Murphy, chief executive of Ogilvy UK, who has previously worked on campaigns for M&S and John Lewis - the behemoth of Yuletide adverts - described Christmas as the "UK Super Bowl of marketing". Mr Murphy added: “Christmas ads have evolved from just showcasing products to focusing on storytelling.” The data also highlights a shift in spending from television to digital. While TV advertising is still important for retailers' Christmas adverts, with films this year still being shown on soap ad breaks and during hit shows such as This Morning, advertising through search engines is expected to rise almost 9% to more than £4bn, with online ads including on social media sites rising the most by 16% to just under £4bn. The amount of money expected to be spent on TV advertising has fallen almost 5% to £1.4bn.
BBQ: Does an increase in advertising always guarantee an increase in sales?
