Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot is the most Googled Christmas advert character, according to data from Google trends.
The friendly little vegetable has been crowned the best Christmas advert character, after data comparing Google searches over the last five years revealed that Kevin the Carrot is the most Googled Christmas advert character.
The data as compiled based on the top six UK retailers, who release hotly anticipated Christmas adverts every year, including John Lewis, Aldi, M&S, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
Data analysts reviewed the number of Google searches people made for the Christmas ads from each retailer in 2021 as well as Christmas advert characters over the past five years to calculate the winner – Aldi, with Kevin the Carrot.
Although Aldi’s animated carrot was first brought to our screens at Christmas 2016, it wasn’t until 2018 when Kevin took on an evil Parsnip in a series of cliff-hanger adverts – and an ASA advertising ban – that the carrot shot to the top of the search charts.
With such a prolific presence online, it’s no surprise that Aldi’s latest recruit can’t compete – this year customer searches for poor Ebanana Scrooge were just a 10th of the number of searches for Kevin the Carrot, meaning that the 2016 mascot outperformed Ebanana by 89% according to Google trends.
The data also revealed that whilst more news articles have been written about Ebanana than Kevin, the champion carrot still comes out on top with more mentions on websites in Google search results, more Twitter followers and more posts on Instagram.
But it’s not all good news for Aldi – Google search data also reveals that Percy Pig could soon muddy the waters to knock Kevin off his top spot.
Bought to life for the first time in M&S’s Christmas advert in 2021, searches for Percy Pig hogged the search bar and overtook Kevin the Carrot this year.
Although Percy Pig is a character enjoyed by M&S customers all year round, the use of him in its 2021 Christmas advert has left its indelible mark online – and Kevin the Carrot may need to watch his back if he’s to bring home the bacon in 2022.
The data has been compiled by creative intelligence agency No Brainer to highlight the impact that effective character building and messaging can have for brands online.
The most popular Christmas advert characters over the past 5 years:
Ranked by Google trends data
- Kevin the Carrot (Aldi 2016-present)
- Paddington Bear (M&S 2017)
- Excitable Edgar (John Lewis 2019)
- Moz the Monster (John Lewis 2017)
- Ebanana Scrooge (Aldi 2021)
- Buster the Boxer (John Lewis 2016)
The most popular Christmas advert characters over the past five years – which character won each year:
Ranked by Google trends data
2017 winner – Paddington Bear (M&S)
2018 winner – Kevin the Carrot (Aldi)
2018 winner – Kevin the Carrot (Aldi)
2019 winner – Kevin the Carrot (Aldi)
2020 winner – Kevin the Carrot (Aldi)
2021 winner – Percy the Pig (M&S)
Commenting on the data, Laura Rudd, Head of Data Insights at No Brainer, said:
“Kevin the Carrot has held his own as the most Googled Christmas advert character over the past five years, despite the fact that other retailers including John Lewis have created memorable characters, such as Edgar the Excitable Dragon in 2019. Clearly, viewers respond well to characters in TV adverts that are fun and engaging, but also consistent.
“Customers are obviously excited by the various storylines that Kevin the Carrot has had over the years, and this excitement translates into them searching for content about him online.
“It will be interesting to see how Kevin the Carrot fairs next year, as the use of Percy Pig by M&S in its TV advert saw Google searches explode for the character and actually overtake searches for Kevin the Carrot in 2021. Aldi might need to think bigger next year if Kevin wants to reclaim his festive crown.”
Watch the winning Xmas character adverts:
2017 winner – Paddington Bear
M&S capitalised on the November release date of Paddington Bear 2 in 2017 by joining up with the fuzzy bear for their 2017 Christmas advert, beating Kevin to the top spot.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfaSxIkLslE
2018 winner – Kevin the Carrot
2018 saw Kevin compete against an evil parsnip in a series of adventures to save his family from becoming Christmas dinner. The clever release of cliff-hanger adverts clearly worked, despite one ad being banned by the ASA after a single viewer complained that in one advert, Kevin could be interpreted to be encouraging younger viewers to drink.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdrEKXNa09k
2019 winner – Kevin the Carrot
Aldi capitalised on the popularity of Peaky Blinders with their 2019 ad showcasing the Leafy Blinders, who were in a rivalry with Russel Sprout’s gang.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ6MJFbmKfQ
2020 winner – Kevin the Carrot
Amidst the throws of the pandemic, Aldi used the heart-warming theme of ‘Kevin out in the cold’ to highlight how far Kevin would go to be reunited with his family – a message that all Brits could relate to with the tightened Christmas socialising restrictions.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL56Z5StIUY&feature=emb_imp_woyt
2021 winner – Percy Pig
Although Percy Pig is a character that customers enjoy all year round, 2021 marked the first year that the character was brought to life on our screens – resulting in Percy knocking Kevin off the top spot for the most Googled Christmas TV advert characters.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlem-MOMZOs
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