Christmas ads are getting longer. Should yours?
Debenhams opened Christmas ad season with a four minute film. Here's why a small business shouldn't copy the length, and what to copy instead.
Luke Gray · 3 min read
EP 008- Debenhams launched a four minute Christmas ad on YouTube on 15 October, the first big retailer out of the blocks.
- Other festive ads so far are running two to three minutes. Long form is having a moment.
- Big brands can afford long. For a small business, one tight 30 seconds usually does more.
- Copy the story, the cast of real people and the early start. Not the running time.
Christmas ad season has started, it's still October, and the first big one is four minutes long. Debenhams put its film, Christmas. For Everyone, out on YouTube on 15 October, billed as the first major retailer to launch its Christmas ad this year.
So should your small business be making a longer Christmas video too? My answer: almost certainly not. Steal the story, the timing and the warmth. Leave the running time to the people with a TV budget.
01What's actually out so far
Debenhams' film is the next chapter of its "The Village" series, directed by Tom Day. Emily Atack plays Tina, home for Christmas, Mathew Horne plays her old school friend, a snowstorm and a power cut wreck the village party, and Gabrielle turns up near the end to sing Dreams. It's a proper little drama. According to TheIndustry.fashion, it debuted on YouTube and rolls out across out-of-home, social and press through to Christmas.
It's not the only long one. Famous Campaigns' running list of 2026 festive ads, updated on 29 October, has Tiffany & Co and Walmart (in the US) at two minutes each, and Visit Oslo's musical sequel at three. Two minutes is starting to look like the short version.
When the big brands make a short film, they're buying your evening. When you make one, you're asking for it.
02Why long works for them
A four minute ad isn't really an ad. It's a piece of entertainment people choose to watch, share and talk about, and it gives the press something to write about for a week. That's the job. It's also backed by a cast, a director, a crew, a media plan and posters on every bus stop, all pushing people towards it.
And crucially, nobody at Debenhams is relying on the four minute version alone. It's the centrepiece of a campaign with lots of other bits around it.
03Why long rarely works for you
Your Christmas video is landing in a feed, between someone's dog and a mate's engagement post. Nobody has gone looking for it. There's no billboard sending people your way, and there are no famous faces to make a thumb stop.
In that setting, length is a cost, not a flex. Every extra second is another moment for someone to swipe away. A local café, gym or gift shop asking for three minutes of attention in December is asking a lot, at the exact time of year when everyone's attention is shredded.
04What I'd steal from the big ads instead
- A story, not a list of products. Debenhams sells fashion, beauty and homeware, and the film is about a village party. Show one moment that feels like Christmas at your place: the first mince pie of the season going out, the regulars, the shop at closing time with the lights on.
- Real faces. You haven't got Emily Atack. You've got your team and your customers, who are more believable anyway. Ask first, keep it natural.
- Start early. Debenhams went in mid October because, in its CEO's words, customers are "thinking about and planning for Christmas earlier this year". For a small business, early means your first festive post goes out before the big ads drown everything out.
- One idea, cut lots of ways. Film one short story properly, then cut it into a 30 second hero, a 15 second version for ads and a few six second moments for stories. One shoot, a month of content.
05When long does make sense
I'm not saying never. A longer piece can work if it lives somewhere people choose to watch: your website, a YouTube channel with an audience, a screen at an event, or an email to customers who already love you. If you've got a genuinely good story with real people in it, two minutes on your site plus short cuts on social is a lovely combination.
What doesn't work is a long film dropped into a feed and left to fend for itself. That's how you spend a budget and get 40 views, half of them from your mum.
06The short version
Big brands make long Christmas ads because long is the point for them. For most small businesses, the win is a short, warm, specific story, filmed once and cut many ways, out before the rush.
If you're thinking about Christmas video for your business and want it out early, have a look at what I do or drop me a line. And if you think I'm wrong and long is the future, tell me. I'll happily argue about it over a coffee.
