John Lewis’ ‘Buster’ named most engaging Christmas ad

Department store John Lewis and its ‘Buster the Boxer’ Christmas advert has been measured as the “most engaging” festive ad, according to an annual study by Realeyes and Lucid that measures viewers’ emotions by tracking facial expressions.

‘Buster’ scored 94.8 percent on the emotionally compelling scale, putting it top of the study that measured responses to 65 Christmas adverts, and saw it narrowly beating The Body Shop’s Jungle Bells, which scored 94.1 percent, the highest scoring ad among men.

"The purpose of advertising is to get the tills ringing and evidence is mounting that it’s people's emotional responses that determine where they shop," said Realeyes chief executive Mihkel Jäätma. “This year saw a marked shift from melancholy and sentimentality - exemplified by 2015's John Lewis's Man on the Moon - to more uplifting feelings.”

While men were engaged with The Body Shop, women found the spoof Buster ad from homewares retailer Robert Dyas the most engaging with a 97.8 percent score. Overall, Robert Dyas was ranked third on the chart with a 92 percent score.

Other fashion retailers to make the top 10 included Marks and Spencer with its ‘Christmas with Love from Mrs Claus’, which scored 89.4 percent to take fifth spot, while Amazon’s ‘Iman and Priest’ advert took ninth place with 83.8 percent.

John Lewis Christmas campaign tops emotional chart

Not all fashion retailers did well, House of Fraser’s ‘Christmas is Coming for You’ and JD Sports’ ‘Undisputed Christmas’ were among the bottom ranked emotionally engaging adverts with a score of 16.7 percent.

Lucid chief executive, Patrick Comer, added: "2016’s Christmas ads are some of the best yet, reflecting the evolution of powerful storytelling in advertising.

“Emotional intelligence enables us to measure the rise in positive and broadly resonant messaging. Also, my children keep asking for a boxer puppy and a trampoline.”

Realeyes measured the emotional reactions of 4,450 people, drawn from Lucid's audience platform, using AI algorithms to track and interpret their facial expressions as they watch via webcams.

Even with its impressive 94.8 percent score, John Lewis’s 2016 Christmas advert doesn’t take the crown for the most engaging advert ever, that still belongs to Mulberry’s 2014 festive ‘Win Christmas’ campaign that scored a 99.5 percent engagement, retention and impact rating.

John Lewis ‘Buster the Dog’ ad tops YouTube’s Christmas ad chart

John Lewis can also add topping YouTube’s Christmas ad chart to its honours this festive season. ‘Buster’ has so far attracted more than 21 million global views on the video site. The department store is followed by Sainsbury’s musical story with James Corden that has amassed more than 13.6 million views, while Burberry’s film celebrating the history of its founder takes third spot.

Images: courtesy of John Lewis