Kevin the Carrot has a useful advantage over most Christmas film stars: he can move from a Dickensian street to a family comedy to a magical factory without anyone demanding an explanation. The carrot stays recognisable. Everything around him can change.
That makes Aldi’s 2021–2023 adverts a particularly enjoyable little run for film lovers. Each borrows a familiar story, gives its characters a vegetable makeover and finds room for a festive meal. Watched together, they also show three different ways of using a reference: adapting a book, parodying a particular film and playing in a world familiar from both page and screen.
This is a guide to those three campaigns, with a brief stop at Kevin’s beginnings. It is a selected watchlist, rather than a complete history of every Aldi Christmas advert.
Kevin’s movie years at a glance
| Year | Main Christmas story | The reference to recognise |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Kevin’s first Christmas campaign | The beginning of Aldi’s returning character |
| 2021 | A Christmas Carrot | Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol |
| 2022 | Kevin’s Home Alone adventure | The 1990 film Home Alone |
| 2023 | Kevin and the Christmas Factory | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the wider Wonka world |
There is one especially useful distinction in 2022: the football airport teaser and the Home Alone Christmas film are separate pieces. Finding one does not mean you have found the other.
Before the parodies: why Kevin came back
Kevin arrived in 2016. The IPA’s case study of the first two campaigns describes Aldi’s problem: shoppers used the supermarket, but bought some of their special Christmas shopping elsewhere. Keeping the character across 2016 and 2017 helped Aldi connect its festive range with a recognisable personality.
That practical origin is part of Kevin’s charm. A carrot belongs on a Christmas dinner table, so the character can move through the food without looking like a celebrity who has wandered into the wrong advert.
For the viewer, the returning face changes the question. We already know who Kevin is; now we want to know what sort of trouble he will find. A familiar character leaves more space for a new setting, an unexpected costume or a joke that would otherwise need explaining.
It also makes the films easy to revisit out of order. You do not need a lengthy account of Kevin’s life to enjoy a banana being unpleasant at Christmas.
2021: A Christmas Carrot
The essential joke is a casting decision. Ebanana Scrooge is the grump, while Kevin becomes the Spirit of Christmas who helps him change. The pun is silly; the underlying choice is rather sound. Kevin can remain the friendly presence while a new character supplies the bad behaviour.
In a first-hand interview with the campaign’s makers, McCann’s creatives identify Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as the inspiration. They also explain that the rhyming narration had been part of Kevin’s films since 2016, helping them tell a story within the short running time.
That is the safest way to describe the connection. This is a Dickens adaptation in miniature, populated by food. It need not be labelled a tribute to The Muppet Christmas Carol, or to any other particular screen version, for the joke to work.
The transformation story is wonderfully economical for an advert. A miserable character encounters kindness and becomes more generous. Even viewers who have never read Dickens can understand that movement, while those who know the story get an extra pleasure from the substitutions.
There is substantial craft underneath the wordplay, too. The makers describe physical miniature sets combined with animated characters, including hand-finished buildings and a model Victorian street. That gives the fantasy somewhere tangible to live.
Our suggested thing to look for is the relationship between setting and character. Does the little world invite you in before Ebanana starts behaving badly? Would the same redemption feel as satisfying against a plain background? It is a useful way to see how much atmosphere contributes to a very short story.
For a feature-length companion, try The Muppet Christmas Carol. The pairing comes from their shared Dickens story, rather than evidence that Aldi adapted the Muppet film.
The Muppet Christmas Carol · Film guide →Watch Aldi's official A Christmas Carrot film.
2022: Kevin is Home Alone
Here the reference is more specifically cinematic. Aldi puts Kevin inside a version of Home Alone, borrowing the film’s family-separation premise and turning it into an animated Christmas adventure.
The contemporary campaign report credits McCann UK, animation studio Psyop and directors Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick. Its account also identifies family togetherness as the campaign’s theme.
The name makes the casting feel almost inevitable. Kevin the Carrot and Kevin McCallister share a name before the parody has even begun. Viewers familiar with the film arrive carrying its mixture of independence, vulnerability and comic chaos.
What makes that useful is the contrast with the ending a Christmas advert wants. Being alone creates the adventure; being together supplies the emotional reward. Aldi gets to enjoy the mayhem while keeping reunion as the thing that matters.
The humour has a cheekier edge than a gentle bedtime story. The much-discussed snowman gag is part of that tone, so adults choosing a strictly sweet, innocent compilation may want to preview this one first.
Watch Aldi’s official 2022 Christmas advert on YouTube.
Home Alone · Film guide →And what about the football airport advert?
That was the teaser. System1’s contemporary analysis distinguishes the Home Alone main film from the separate airport-football spot, which referenced Nike’s 1998 World Cup advertising.
It is a good example of why campaign years can be confusing in a watchlist. A teaser may establish the situation, introduce a character or simply generate a different joke. The main film then takes another route.
For a Christmas movie evening, choose the Home Alone film. For a discussion of how adverts borrow from other adverts, add the airport teaser as a separate entry.
2023: Kevin and the Christmas Factory
The next year trades domestic jeopardy for a grand tour. Kevin visits William Conker’s factory alongside a group of less appealing guests. The launch report describes the prize as the “cheese to the factory” and explains that Kevin succeeds through his willingness to share.
The reference is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a story that reaches audiences through a book and several screen interpretations. Calling the campaign Wonka-inspired is helpful. Assigning every detail to one particular film would be a stronger claim than the campaign evidence supports.
A factory is also an excellent setting for a food advert. It allows a procession of treats to feel like a journey. The viewer is invited to wonder what comes next, rather than simply wait for another product.
Kevin’s role changes again. In 2021 he helped someone else become kinder. In 2023 his own generosity distinguishes him from the crowd. The recurring character can carry a different part of the moral without losing his personality.
Psyop’s own production page marks this as its eighth year collaborating with McCann Manchester and Aldi UK. It offers both the finished film and behind-the-scenes material, making it a useful companion if you want to see the work beyond the jokes.
Watch the finished 2023 film on Psyop’s Vimeo.
Three short films for a Christmas watch-through
For a short watch-through, keep the campaigns in order: Scrooge, Home Alone, then the factory. The progression makes their different kinds of borrowing easy to spot.
Ask one question after each: what survives when the original characters become vegetables? In 2021 it is the possibility of change. In 2022 it is the pull of family. In 2023 it is the reward for generosity.
Those are familiar Christmas-story pleasures, even when the source itself is not exclusively a Christmas tale. The references supply a quick route into the world; Kevin gives us someone to follow through it. And the food puns ensure nobody mistakes the exercise for a solemn adaptation.
For more miniature festive stories, explore the CineClaus Christmas adverts collection.
