Put the Halloween decorations away, Christmas is on its way and with it the 2025 crop of festive retail advertisements for us to critically review with great seriousness.
First out the gate is Asda, which sees Dr Seuss’s The Grinch finding the true meaning of happiness at Christmas is a supermarket that prides itself on low prices. The mean green Christmas-ruining machine’s heart is indeed several sizes too small as he grouches over his family’s desire for “spenny gifts”.
To be fair, the family in question (human, in case you were wondering) seem to be trapped in some nightmare outdoor shopping experience akin to Winter Wonderland, where a single hot chocolate won’t get you much change from a tenner.
His poor kids just want a “well pricey” tree but the cost-of-living crisis has turned their father into a feather-fingered fiend for penny pinching. The along comes a big green Asda sign and the promise of a dinner that won’t break the bank. Cue much joy and merriment as he flies around the store, singing a version of Let It Snow with the lyrics changed to celebrate “prices rolled back down low”. Soon after the turkey is on the table he’s returned to his human form through the power of Asda pricing.
The Asda Grinch is no Michael Bublé (see their 2023 ad campaign), but then we’re all working with restricted budgets this year. “My Christmassy cheer is flying/My wallet’s no longer crying,” scans well enough. And the requisite fake snow is abundant, although the UK hasn’t had a white Christmas since 2010 (thanks climate emergency).
Asda is clearly taking a leaf out of what is fast becoming the playbook for a watertight Christmas advert. Find a beloved children’s book character that can instantly activate everyone’s nostalgia glands while offering lucrative merch tie-in deals and watch the festive pounds roll in. See Sainsbury’s great success with borrowing the BFG from Roald Dahl’s estate following their 2015 smash hit with Mog the Cat, and Barbour’s partnership with Shaun the Sheep.
This Grinch, however, is more Scrooge-in-a-fursuit than a camp capering criminal. He doesn’t lack love and kindness, he’s just really stressed out by the cost-of-living crisis. Jim Carrey’s embodiment of one of literature’s great misanthropes is a hard act to follow. But to not include Max, the Grinch’s faithful pet dog, seems like an oversight. He’s the best character, obviously.
It also somewhat contradicts Dr Seuss’s original message in How The Grinch Stole Christmas! where stealing all the presents and food doesn’t cause the residents of Whoville to despair. “Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more,” is the central thesis of the Grinch’s hero’s journey. But that doesn’t sell well-priced Christmas puddings and Grinch merch, now does it.
I predict this will be the first of many Christmas adverts this year that have to dance around the cozzy livs and the general feeling of doom sufficing the UK. Hopefully our hearts will also grow three sizes by the end – and a cheap festive turkey won’t hurt either.
