Christmas Ads, Cut by Cut: 731 Commercials Measured (2014 to 2026)
We measured 731 Christmas commercials from 2014 to 2026, every one cut at every edit: 22,833 shots in all. The typical Christmas ad runs 58 seconds in 27 shots, mostly in a living room, with snow more often than not and Santa in about a third. Here is what they have in common, year by year.
Free to use with credit (CC BY 4.0). Download the numbers (CSV).
Key takeaways
- The median Christmas ad runs 58 seconds in 27 shots, 57% longer than other ads from the same years (37 seconds, 21 shots).
- They are longer, not slower: a typical shot lasts 1.91 seconds, against 1.88 seconds in other ads.
- Santa appears in 37% of Christmas ads, snow in 57%, a Christmas dinner or turkey in 22%.
- The living room is the most common setting, at 18% of all shots. Only 4% open in a kitchen, though 33% go into one.
- The product first appears 17% of the way through (13% in other ads), and 9% never show it at all.
Christmas ads are longer, not slower
A Christmas ad runs 57% longer than an ordinary ad from the same years (58 against 37 seconds) and holds more shots (27 against 21). But each shot lasts almost exactly as long (1.91 against 1.88 seconds): brands buy more time at Christmas and fill it with more story, not with slower cutting. 140 of the 731 run 90 seconds or more, the length of a short film, led by John Lewis, Aldi, McDonald's, Sainsbury's.
Year by year
Medians per year. Years with fewer than 15 Christmas ads in the library are left out.
| Year | Ads | Length | Shots | Per shot | Santa | Snow | Product first seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 29 | 55 s | 25 | 2.09 s | 34% | 34% | 13% |
| 2015 | 27 | 60 s | 24 | 2.13 s | 26% | 63% | 37% |
| 2016 | 43 | 61 s | 37 | 1.77 s | 33% | 72% | 28% |
| 2017 | 23 | 72 s | 42 | 2.04 s | 35% | 87% | 24% |
| 2018 | 43 | 60 s | 31 | 1.78 s | 49% | 60% | 22% |
| 2019 | 37 | 45 s | 26 | 1.97 s | 32% | 57% | 29% |
| 2020 | 34 | 56 s | 26 | 1.88 s | 44% | 62% | 7% |
| 2021 | 30 | 65 s | 33 | 1.95 s | 23% | 50% | 20% |
| 2022 | 72 | 45 s | 28 | 1.84 s | 25% | 50% | 13% |
| 2023 | 106 | 60 s | 28 | 1.93 s | 48% | 54% | 19% |
| 2024 | 90 | 43 s | 24 | 1.89 s | 41% | 50% | 19% |
| 2025 | 131 | 45 s | 25 | 1.92 s | 40% | 59% | 12% |
| 2026 | 50 | 55 s | 28 | 2.03 s | 36% | 62% | 15% |
Where Christmas ads take place
Share of all 22,833 shots by setting. The living room dominates; the kitchen, a common guess, holds only 5% of shots and opens just 4% of ads.
| Setting | Share of shots |
|---|---|
| Living room | 18% |
| Street | 7% |
| Snowy outdoors / forest | 7% |
| Dining room | 5% |
| Kitchen | 5% |
| Bedroom | 3% |
| Car interior | 2% |
| Dimly lit room | 1% |
The mood is mostly playful, joyful, serene: 20%, 16%, 13% of shots respectively.
When the product appears
The product first appears at a median of 17% of the way through a Christmas ad, against 13% in other ads, and the logo at 22%. 9% of Christmas ads never show the product at all: the story is the product.
Christmas ads to study, shot by shot
These have a public page with the official film, its credits and the script.
- PETA UK: Happy Christmassacre (2026, 121 s, 50 shots)
- Sainsbury's: The Unexpected Guest (2026, 90 s, 42 shots)
- Telstra: Girl & Ghost (2026, 60 s, 25 shots)
- Tesco: That's What Makes It Christmas (2026, 60 s, 25 shots)
- Asda: The Gnome of Christmas (2025, 90 s, 59 shots)
- JD Sports: The Family Portrait (2025, 90 s, 48 shots)
- McDonald's: The Gift of McDonald's (2025, 60 s, 48 shots)
- Morrisons: The Greatest Show at Home (2025, 60 s, 19 shots)
- Nba: Jingle Hoops (2025, 34 s, 5 shots)
- Sainsbury's: The BIG Christmas (2025, 105 s, 47 shots)
- Telstra: Together is For Christmas (2025, 60 s, 25 shots)
- Tesco: Helping Feed The Christmas Spirit (2025, 60 s, 28 shots)
- Vodafone: 40 Years of Christmas Connection (2025, 84 s, 33 shots)
- Burger King: X-MAS Hangover (2024, 60 s, 12 shots)
- LIDL: A Magical Christmas (2024, 60 s, 47 shots)
- Telstra: Hello Christmas (2024, 90 s, 41 shots)
How we measured
- The sample. Every commercial in the FrameThrower library from 2014 to 2026 whose title or story is about Christmas (Santa, Christmas, Navidad, Weihnachten, advent calendars and so on), with duplicates removed: 731 ads and 22,833 shots.
- Shots. Each ad is cut at every edit by shot detection; length is the end of the last shot, and shot length is length divided by shots.
- What is in each shot. Each shot is tagged for its setting, whether the product or logo is visible, its mood and what is in it. "Santa" and "snow" mean they appear in at least one shot.
- The comparison. 1,482 randomly chosen non-Christmas ads from the same years, measured the same way.
- Limits. Medians, not averages, so a few very long films do not skew the result. The library leans to the UK and US, and to recent years: there are more Christmas ads from 2022 on than before.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the average Christmas ad?
The median Christmas ad runs 58 seconds, against 37 seconds for other ads from the same years. 140 of the 731 we measured run 90 seconds or more, led by John Lewis, Aldi, McDonald's and Sainsbury's.
How many shots are in a Christmas ad?
A median of 27 shots, with each shot lasting about 1.91 seconds. That is the same cutting pace as other ads; Christmas ads simply run longer.
What do Christmas adverts have in common?
A living room (18% of all shots), snow (57% of ads), Santa (37%), a Christmas dinner (22%), and a playful or joyful tone. The product usually appears about 17% of the way in.
When does the product appear in a Christmas ad?
At a median of 17% of the way through, a little later than in other ads (13%). 9% of Christmas ads never show the product, and the brand logo first appears at 22%.
Are Christmas ads animated?
Mostly not: 8% are mainly animated, such as Aldi's Kevin the Carrot or Nutella's Christmas Tales. The rest are live action, often with CGI.
Can I use these numbers?
Yes. The numbers on this page and in the CSV are published under CC BY 4.0: use them with a credit and a link to this page. The ads themselves belong to their brands.
Search every Christmas ad, shot by shot
Find the exact Christmas moment you need, a snowy street at night or a family around the table, across 731 Christmas ads and the whole commercials library.
Free for 10 searches a day, no card. Or browse the commercials database.
About the author
Leo Kadieff has made film and advertising work for over 20 years, including campaigns for Coca-Cola (FIFA), Amazon and SC Johnson with Monks, and creative partnerships with Google, Adobe, Runway and Luma. He built FrameThrower because finding the right reference was the slowest part of every pitch and treatment.
Leo Kadieff on LinkedIn