2020 Christmas adverts supporting charities
Helen Packer | 11 December 2020 | News
Following a tough year for charities, it’s inspiring to see a range of companies supporting worthwhile causes this Christmas. Here’s a selection of our favourite corporate Christmas adverts that are part of a charity partnership.
The Body Shop
The Body Shop have teamed up with Channel 4 to launch a series of adverts raising awareness of UK female homelessness. The cosmetic company is using its first ever Christmas campaign to support End Youth Homelessness – a UK-wide movement of local charities that have joined forces to tackle youth homelessness. The powerful videos tell the stories of young women through spoken-word poetry, performed by artist Rasheeda Page-Muir.
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[Their advert is no longer available – 21 July 2021]
Disney
Disney and Make-A-Wish are celebrating 40 years of their partnership with this animated ad. The short, called ‘From our family to yours’ follows the story of Lola, her granddaughter and their Mickey Mouse teddy. The plush Mickey Mouse featured in the advert is available to purchase, with 25% of the purchase price going to Make-A-Wish to help them grant more wishes.
Marks & Spencer
This year, M&S have released not one, but nine Christmas adverts showcasing their festive food. Each of the videos is narrated by a different celebrity, including Olivia Colman, Jeremy Irons, and Naomie Harris. Marks and Spencer has made a donation to each of the celebrities’ chosen charity, giving a total of £2 million. The selected charities include The Hope Foundation, Anthony Nolan and My Sisters’ House. The adverts are being released on a weekly basis in the run up to Christmas Day.
Papa John’s
Pizza chain Papa John’s have released a scaled-back Christmas advert: a series of messages on pizza boxes, explaining that this year they’ve decided to put their “dough to better use”. The money they would have spent on an advert is being instead donated to Crisis and The Trussell Trust to tackle hunger and homelessness this Christmas. They’ve also launched a festive feast meal deal, with 50p from each sale going to the charities.
John Lewis
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a John Lewis advert. Their highly anticipated campaign encourages viewers to “give a little love” this year. They’re working with FareShare and Home-Start to reach over 100,000 families. The retailer is doing this by donating 1p from every transaction made with a My John Lewis card and donating all profits from their “Give a Little Love” product range.
MORE:
- The Big Give Christmas Challenge raises over £20 million in one week (10th December 2020)
- Charity Christmas appeal films 2020: the round up, part two (9th December 2020)
- The best 2020 charity Christmas singles (9th December 2020)
About Helen Packer
Helen Packer has a background in communications, digital marketing and branding, specialising in the not-for-profit sector. She is particularly interested in international development, human rights and foreign policy. Helen is currently completing an MA in International Journalism at City, University of London. Contact: [email protected].