Happy Holidays: 10 of the best holiday brand campaigns
By Ivie Ndep
Holiday marketing campaigns have indeed become part of the culture during the festive season. I am a Christmas fanatic and I look forward to all the songs, Christmas lighting, decorations, and brands generally trying to outdo each other with their campaigns.
This year, we see a lot of brands shifting to emotional holiday ads that are almost certain to tug at your heartstrings and either make you shed a tear or leave you with a big smile on your face. Please enjoy my top 10 heartwarming, emotional and thoughtful holiday brand campaign picks of 2019.
WALKER CRISPS – ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS
Walkers enlisted the queen of Christmas - Mariah Carey - to promote its limited-edition flavors. This campaign is Walker’s biggest Christmas campaign yet. The ad is set with her popular holiday favorite song, “All I want for Christmas is you”, playing in the background. This ad gets you singing, dancing, and into the Christmas spirit in no time.
ERSTE GROUP – HANNA BUMBLEBEE
This ad is adorable and heartwarming. Erste Group is a bank in Austria that also had a viral holiday campaign last year which made me shed a few tears. This year’s ad is about Hanna the bumblebee who believes her wings are too small to carry her body. This Erste campaign is about believing in yourself, in love, and in the good of others.
APPLE – THE SURPRISE
This campaign by Apple is a real tearjerker. The story is about dealing with the loss of a loved one, especially during the holiday season. Grandchildren gift their grandpa with an iPad and make a scrapbook for him. The scrapbook includes a video of the last time their grandma was captured on camera. This was such a well thought out and beautifully made ad. I love the tagline which reads - “sometimes the best gifts come from unexpected places”.
JOHN LEWIS AND WAITROSE - EXCITABLE EDGAR
John Lewis and Partner Christmas campaign is now a Christmas tradition. This year’s campaign is a story about the magic of friendship between a little girl called Ava and Excitable Edgar. Edgar is excited about Christmas festivities but seems to ruin everything by accidentally burning things. Ava manages to give Excitable Edgar a gift to light up Christmas in his own way without destroying anything. The message for this campaign is to “show them how much you care” and the soundtrack, “Can’t fight this feeling”, really makes the heart melt.
CALM (CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIVING MISERABLY) - #YULESLOG
According to Twitter, 49% of users said they felt pressured to have fun during the festive season. CALM launched a Twitter campaign to encourage conversations around the pressures of Christmas. The aim is to help people who may not be having the most wonderful time of the year.
HAFORD HARDWARE - #BEAKIDTHISCHRISTMAS
Haford is a family-owned hardware store in Wales and this ad was made to encourage people to buy local. It only cost £100 to produce and the campaign has gone viral with over 2.5 million views on YouTube. This two-minute ad has given the bigger retailers a run for their money! The ad features the owner’s 2-year-old son Arthur working at the store. I love this Christmas Ad by Haford because it’s simple, sincere, and makes you feel like a kid again.
FRITO LAY – SHARE YOUR FAVORITE THING
Frito Lay is a company with a broad portfolio of snacks. This is Frito Lay's first-holiday campaign and they nailed it! The wonderful thing about this advert is that instead of focusing on just one product, Frito Lay sprinkles all their brands throughout the video. The ad features Anna Kendrick who sings a parody of the popular song “A few of my favorite things” throughout.
XFINITY – A HOLIDAY REUNION
The holiday season is a great time for family and friends to reunite. This ad will leave you feeling nostalgic! Remember the movie E.T.? Xfinity brings E.T. back for the holidays in this marketing campaign. It shows E.T. returning and reuniting with Elliot and his family.
WESTJET – CHRISTMAS MIRACLE GIVE OR RECIEVE
In this campaign, families received gifts from WestJet and were told by Santa to either keep the gifts or donate it to families in need at the Ronald McDonald house. I love the powerful message of giving, especially this holiday season when there are so many people in need.
NASA – HOLIDAY THEMED GIFS
I love this campaign because when I usually think of Christmas, the last thing that comes to mind is NASA. However, NASA is spreading some holiday cheer this festive season with their holiday-themed GIFs. Just search for “NASA holiday” on your GIPHY keyboard to add some cheer to your text. Have yourself a merry little GIF-mas!
What are your favorite holiday campaigns from 2019? Please share with us!