Christmas Ads Still Belong to Celebrities Despite Creators' Big Year

Sephora cast Seth Rogen, Gucci booked Mariah Carey and Kay hired Colin Jost for this year's Christmas ads — while creators, marketing's favorite obsession for the rest of the year, were largely absent from the holiday crunch. The first festive campaigns from John Lewis, SharkNinja, Ulta Beauty and Burberry followed the same pattern, according to Digiday's Future of Marketing Briefing: celebrities carry December, even in a year when marketers handed creators bigger budgets and lead roles in global campaigns.

Why do celebrities still win Christmas?

Christmas ads play by older rules, the briefing notes. It is the most scrutinized piece of work a brand releases all year, carries the biggest budget, requires the most senior sign-off, and its conventions have barely changed in a decade: a big film, a broad audience, a famous face.

"Part of the reason brands use celebrities in ads is because they're borrowing fame," said Lynne Deason, head of creative excellence at Kantar. "Christmas is this mass market moment where brands are trying to reach everyone and so often brands are looking for a celebrity that everyone will recognize rather than maybe a particular audience."

That is harder with creators, she added, because audiences tap into them for particular interests. Only a small group of creators has reached mass fame of its own.

The risk calculus is real. John Lewis's spot drew Piers Morgan calling it "possibly the worst advert I've ever seen for anything" within a day of release, plus Mumsnet debate over "ungrateful" grandchildren — while its star, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, escaped unscathed.

What does the data say about celebrity-led festive ads?

Tesco's Christmas ad, starring comedian Roisin Conaty and actor Anna Maxwell Martin, is currently the most talked-about commercial in the U.K., per Sprout Social. It has generated 3,263 posts or mentions (volume) and over 36,000 total interactions such as likes, comments and shares (engagement). Sentiment is split, though: only 51% of conversations are positive, with researchers citing complaints that the premise feels unrealistic and unaware of how retail works.

How are stars and creators converging?

SharkNinja's holiday campaign shows the hybrid model. Kevin Hart, David Beckham, Aryna Siarhiejeŭna and Tom Brady posted short teasers to their own social accounts days before the spot aired. Laura Dyer, senior VP of global brand and partnerships at SharkNinja, calls the line between celebrities and creators "super fluid."

Anthropologie went further, handing its holiday campaign to Pooja Tripathi, creator of the viral web series Brooklyn Coffee Shop, who wrote and showran a micro comedy series "from script to shoot," per CMO Barbra Sainsurin. The rollout mimics a movie launch, with roughly 50 more creators amplifying it across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and Reddit.

"We're using the holiday to challenge ourselves beyond just the traditional way in which we tell stories and to create a more immersive brand experience through this extension and partnership with an original content creator," Sainsurin said.

What does Lego's new hire signal?

Lego — which grossed nearly $700 million from two Lego Movies — poached WME dealmaker Kelsey Gray Sherman last month as head of celebrity talent and brand-first partnerships, reporting to svp Jill Wilfert.

"The distinction between 'traditional celebrity' and creator is increasingly less meaningful to audiences, so the brand's approach to building and executing relationships with all manner of talent reflects that," Gray Sherman said. Her role focuses on represented talent, while in-house teams handle fan creators and local influencers.

The likely trajectory: festive campaigns pairing stars and creators side by side, with the lead eventually going to whoever commands the most devoted following — whether the fame came from TV, film or a smartphone screen.