Christmas has always been the privileged stage for storytelling. We still remember John Lewis’s epic narratives, or Sainsbury’s’s subtlety when it transformed the memory of the Great War into a shared tale. Today, however, it seems brands have lost the plot.
The campaigns of 2025 show us a different landscape: commercials that pursue aesthetics, mascots that return like tired rituals, “vibes” that replace narrative. Waitrose remains an exception, with a love story that restores warmth and structure. But the rest? Fragments to shake out, not stories to remember.
The question is simple: what remains of a brand when it forgets the power of storytelling? Without stories, the product becomes anonymous merchandise. Without plot, the community is unrecognizable.
Storytelling isn’t decoration: it’s substance, it’s trust, it’s shared memory. And if brands truly want to speak to the future, they must return to storytelling. A glossy aesthetic isn’t enough: we need a narrative that gives meaning, that creates connections, that stands the test of time.