Our 2025 Grand Visual OOH Christmas Campaigns
We wrapped up the end of 2025 with some of our favourite Christmas ads! Each year, viewers are eager to see which brands will deliver the most memorable stories, making the holiday season a highly anticipated time for creative advertising. Not only did we push the limits of what to expect from OOH advertising, but we also did it with some festive flair.
Introduction to Holiday Advertising
The holiday season is a time when brands pull out all the stops to capture the hearts and attention of consumers. Christmas adverts have become a cultural phenomenon, eagerly anticipated by audiences across the world and discussed everywhere from TV to online channels. But it’s outdoor advertising that has truly transformed the way brands connect with people during this magical time of year.
From bustling city streets to local bus shelters and iconic billboards, Christmas ads now light up spaces with creativity, animation, and interactive experiences. Digital billboards and dynamic content allow advertisers to tailor their message to the moment, making each campaign more relevant and engaging. Whether it’s a playful short film brought to life on street furniture or a larger-than-life installation that turns a city corner into a festive wonderland, OOH advertising brings the spirit of the season into real life, creating memories and buzz that other media simply can’t match.
As technology evolves, so does the art of holiday advertising. Marketers and advertisers are using digital screens, contextual triggers, and even interactive elements to make sure their Christmas ads stand out in a crowded environment. The result? Campaigns that not only promote products but also create moments of joy, connection, and wonder for audiences everywhere.
McDonald’s Special Build Christmas Ad – The Grinchs’ Master Plan
As part of McDonald’s UK’s Christmas Grinched campaign promoting its limited-edition Grinch festive menu, a standout Out-of-Home activation, starting with the Grinch assembling his master plan in a special build on Borough Road.
The installation incorporated eye-catching Billoard with 3D elements, and illuminated signs, to create an immersive and memorable experience.
The Grinchs’ Christmas Takeover Continues
He then headed off to Shoreditch with a playful special build/mural that brought the mischievous character to life in the real world. The OOH installation unveiled The Grinch’s self-styled “Master Plan,” complete with oversized illustrations, handwritten doodles, and visual elements depicting the Grinch at work, including a scene of him knitting life-size odd socks, a key branded collectable included with the actual Grinch Meal. This immersive build added personality and narrative to the campaign’s wider rollout. The OOH storytelling with the Grinch’s signature style complemented the broader executions, amplifying anticipation and engaging audiences during the holiday period.
Starbucks Christmas Mural
As part of Starbucks’ Drawn Together holiday campaign, Out-of-Home was used to bring the festive message into shared public spaces. The OOH activity focused on high-impact special builds in busy urban locations, translating the campaign’s hand-drawn visual style into large-scale illustrated murals, with illuminated displays. The artwork captured simple, familiar festive moments in a loose, sketch-like aesthetic that reflected the drawings associated with Starbucks cups. Integrated Christmas lights added warmth and visibility, helping the builds stand out during darker winter evenings.
Designed to feel crafted rather than overtly commercial, the OOH advertising reinforced Starbucks’ emphasis on personalisation, warmth and everyday connection. By placing these installations along commuter routes and high-footfall areas, the campaign extended its narrative beyond film and in-store touchpoints into the physical world. Strategically, the outdoor advertising activity embedded the idea of togetherness into real-life settings where people naturally gather during the festive season, strengthening emotional engagement while amplifying brand presence.
Pepsi MAX Put It On Ice Bar – Experiential Outdoor Advertising
As part of Pepsi MAX’s 2025 festive campaign built around their theme “It can wait, it’s Christmas after all,” the brand brought its seasonal message to life with a striking Out‑of‑Home experiential campaign: the Pepsi MAX Put It On Ice Bar in Westfield Square at White City, London. Operating for a limited three‑day run in December, the Ice Bar served as a unique event that transformed a busy retail environment into an immersive, ‘chilled‑out’ experience. Inside the frosty pop‑up, visitors donned Pepsi branded cold‑weather gear and enjoyed Pepsi MAX‑themed cocktails and mocktails, participated in games like Pepsi Pong for exclusive merchandise and snapped content at an ice photo wall, all designed to create a memorable and shareable physical touchpoint that extended beyond typical advertising. The build also offered a whimsical twist on festive gifting by giving lucky guests the chance to have their Christmas shopping done for free while they relaxed with their Little Helpers initiative. Overall, the activation embedded Pepsi Max’s seasonal positioning into a real‑world environment and amplified brand engagement during a high‑traffic holiday period.
Pepsi MAX Wrapping Station
Over a period in December, the brand set up a free gift‑wrapping station at the Future Stores space on Oxford Street, London. Passersby could bring presents to be wrapped by staff and receive a free Pepsi drink while they waited, turning a typically mundane holiday task into a cheerful, branded experience in a high‑footfall retail setting. Attendees could get their gifts beautifully wrapped and enjoy the moment, reinforcing Pepsi Max’s seasonal idea of making the holidays less stressful and more fun.
Waitrose Pie-Max – With a CGI Moment
As part of Waitrose’s 2025 Christmas Ad, The Perfect Gift, Out‑of‑Home took a cinematic turn with a bold special build that transformed one of London’s most iconic advertising sites into the “PIEMAX.” For two weeks, the BFI IMAX on London’s South Bank was wrapped with a giant, in‑camera image of a homemade turkey pie, the central food motif from the campaign’s four‑minute festive rom‑com film, complete with hand‑crafted pastry‑style taglines like “The Perfect Gift” and “Love at first bite.” This oversized pie wrap brought the emotional storytelling of the hero film into the real world, leveraging the landmark’s huge scale to create an eye‑catching and playful OOH moment. The impressive display commanded attention, using the visual impact of the illuminated IMAX site to engage passersby and reinforce the campaign’s festive message. Topped off with a steaming CGI moment curated by… you guessed it – Grand Visual.
Sainsbury’s BFG Special Build
Sainsbury’s were back at it again with the BFG. As part of Sainsbury’s 2025 Christmas campaign featuring the return of Roald Dahl’s BFG, the brand brought its festive storytelling into the physical world with standout Out‑of‑Home special builds that amplified the campaign’s presence beyond screens. In key London locations, including Westfield, Sainsbury’s installed large‑scale 3D installations of the BFG character, with the giant peeking over and interacting with billboards and outdoor assets to create a sense of whimsy and scale around the “Good Food for All of Us” Christmas narrative. These immersive builds extended the cinematic quality of the TV and digital ads into tangible urban moments, helping to capture attention among busy shoppers and passersby during the festive season. By bringing the beloved character into real‑world environments through oversized replicas and playful visual cues, the OOH activity reinforced the campaign’s emotional warmth and nostalgia while driving visibility and engagement in high‑footfall areas, complementing the broader mix of TV, DOOH and social media.
The Future of Holiday Ads
As we look back on another season of unforgettable Christmas ads, it’s clear that OOH remains at the forefront of creative, impactful holiday advertising. The blend of traditional billboards, digital OOH, immersive and experiential spaces and innovative special builds has allowed brands to break through the noise and reach consumers where they live, work, and play. Research continues to show that Out-of-Home campaigns drive awareness, engagement, and even online buzz, proving the effectiveness of this medium amplified even more when incorporated into digital content.
Looking ahead, the future of holiday advertising is brighter and more dynamic than ever. Advances in technology are enabling advertisers to deliver more contextual, interactive, and personalised experiences, from real-time digital billboards to animated displays that respond to the environment or audience. Attribution and data-driven planning are helping marketers track the impact of their campaigns across multiple channels, ensuring every ad is as relevant and engaging as possible.
As public spaces evolve and become even more central to our shared experiences, OOH and digital Out-of-Home will continue to play a vital role in creating festive moments that bring people together.
So as we plan for the next big campaign, one thing is certain: the magic of holiday ads will always find a way to light up our streets and our imaginations.
