The Christmas advert season has officially started, and Richard Curtis's genius is all around - again.
Author
- Michal Chmiel
Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
From the carrot expressing love on a placard in the Aldi advert, to the moment when Keira Knightley finally says yes to Joe Wilkinson (and to his food) in the Waitrose commercial, the Love Actually film seems to be everywhere in Christmas adverts. The spending spirit is being neatly squeezed into our minds, just like the extra syllable in the original lyrics of the Love Is All Around anthem.
These adverts are trying to tap into our growing loneliness and desire for togetherness and to persuade us that the best way to get it is to spend money on gifts. In the Pandora advert , for example, the boy character plans a Christmas gift for his mother to the sound of the Beach Boys hit song God Only Knows, which could be intended to remind us of the ending of Love Actually in the arrivals hall at Heathrow airport.
It's no surprise that advertisers use works of fiction to reconnect us with past memories of joy and happiness. Take Roald Dahl's BFG, for example, in Sainsbury's Christmas 2025 TV ad. During Christmas, when we listen to familiar tunes or watch films together, we often experience a sense of togetherness, recognising that we share more than we disagree on.
Love Actually is an example of a cultural phenomenon that many people in the UK share nostalgic feelings towards, which evokes a feeling of belonging in us. We often respond in the same way to the movements and dialogue of Knightley, Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson, and we seem to feel united in our responses.
Once we form a connection between Love Actually or BFG and pleasant feelings associated with watching or reading them, advertisers can use the familiar songs, scenes or characters to borrow the connected positive feelings and shape our responses to their ads.
This happens because of the wiring of the impulsive system , which is often referred to as the hot system, which is a metaphor coined by psychologists to explain why we respond with predictable actions or thoughts to familiar content. Much of human behaviour is automatic. In familiar situations, we tend to act in a routine or habitual way.
Just as a Christmas carol can make us nostalgic for past Christmases, the Love Actually scene in which Grant's character dances to Jump (For My Love) after defending matters important to Britain can make us feel happy and proud. The feeling of moments that make us proud has been recreated by Google Pixel Ad in another attempt to invoke the spirit of Love Actually.
Our willingness to buy things to reconnect with positive memories from the past is not irrational. When we experience happiness, we want to hold on to that feeling, and buying goods is a way of prolonging this state , as one 2022 study showed. If something makes us happy, such as buying goods, we do exactly that.
All those familiar movie moments, tunes and purchases can make us feel united. The need to belong and feel connected is one of the fundamental human motivations. We need stable and meaningful relationships. Sadly, there are fewer chances to meet up now that more people are working from home . John Lewis's advert offers us a way of reconnecting: buying a gift when "you can't find words".
The small but significant innovations that have shaped the way we spend our working days and weekends have also changed the way we communicate. Social media was another development of the first decade of the 21st century that seemed to enable social contact while exposing us to a new set of psychological threats.
One of these was a desire to feel popular on social media . This is why, together with media communication scholar Gareth Thompson , I coined the term digital peacocks . Just like peacocks, digital poseurs post content to attract attention and feel recognised.
The combination of focusing on ourselves and the need for recognition from others could indicate narcissistic tendencies, leading us to spend more money on unnecessary purchases . Why are we responding in this way?
One possible explanation is the feeling of exhaustion caused by information coming at us from all directions, and the experience of division and loneliness. According to a 2018 study, loneliness leads us to focus disproportionately on ourselves. Adverts that we watch outside of the unifying Christmas period do not help with that. ( You are unique! You're so much better than everyone else - doesn't that sound familiar?)
As a 2022 study of narcissists and their attraction to luxury goods found, the more unique we feel, the more we feel the urge to demonstrate this through unnecessary purchases . However, this is an attempt to address a psychological need with material items.
Gifts are fine but conversation is even better
It would be a mistake to think that social connections are only about having a lot of people around who are similar to us. Sharing similar values may be important, but what makes humans unique is the multitude of small differences.
Buying a gift isn't the best way to get that sense of togetherness. Talking to other people and feeling listened to is what helps alleviate feelings of loneliness , even if we don't necessarily agree with them.
Finally, Waitrose, it would only count if Keira said yes to Andrew Lincoln, wouldn't it? Readers, now I'm open to hearing your opinions - after all, we don't have to agree on that.
Michal Chmiel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
