Merry Marketing: MPMG’s Favourite Holiday Campaigns

We picked out our favourite holiday-inspired advertisements and campaigns to highlight some successful marketing strategies. Find out why we think these examples really stand out.

Jesse’s Pick: Create Memories, Not Garbage – Metro Vancouver

I think everyone gets a little too caught up with the latest gadgets and shiny things during holiday gift giving. I love this idea because it really makes you think about how much useless waste we create. Instead, why not opt for a pair of tickets to the opera?

MemoriesNotGarbage

Chelsea’s Pick: Fainting Santa – M&Ms

Who hasn’t tried to wait up all night hoping to meet Santa? This is one of those classic commercials that has everything you could want in a holiday campaign – it’s festive, funny, and features talking chocolate and Santa.

Laura’s Pick: 12 Days of HBO

In the spirit of sharing, HBO provided its subscribers with a special gift to share with friends over the holiday season: Highly addictive HBO TV episodes! HBO released 12 episodes from their most popular TV shows – think Game of Thrones, Girls, Ballers, among others – and let their subscribers share these episodes with an unlimited number of friends. Check out what the marketing email looked like below… As a marketer, you’ve gotta love the clever, crafty tactics to lure and convert more people into HBO devotees!
HBO

Andrea’s Pick: Nick Offerman’s Yule Log – Lagavulin Scotch

Lagavulin Scotch teamed up with Offerman to create THE BEST YULE LOG VIDEO EVER in celebration of the anniversary of the first ever Yule Log broadcast. I think it works for two reasons. First – The TV yule log has become popular in the last 20 years or so because fewer and fewer people have fireplaces in their homes, and Lagavulin jumped on this warm and nostalgic holiday bandwagon. Second, Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) was the breakout character of the popular American TV show Parks and Recreation, especially with the 18-52 male demographic, which also happens to be right smack-dab in the scotch-drinker demo, so this naturally charismatic spokesperson was the perfect choice.

Brian’s Pick: Monty the Penguin – John Lewis

I’m enamoured with the great British tradition of releasing ‘The Christmas Advert.’ Each year, department store John Lewis and supermarket Sainsburys (among others) release a short film, such as Mog’s Christmas CalamityMan on the Moon, and – my personal favourite – Monty the Penguin. What is special about this ‘marketing’ is that there is no overt sales or product pushing. Instead, they tell us entertaining, touching stories that celebrate the values at the heart of the season – all the while creating warm & fuzzy feelings for the brand who shared it. Monty the Penguin was also crazy-effective: snagging a Grand Prix at Cannes and causing WFF penguin adoptions to rise by 600% as an unexpected side effect.

Kyra’s Pick: Ugly Sweater Interactive E-Card – Canucks

I am constantly looking for opportunities to take advatage of the inherently interactive nature of online and social media marketing. This campiagn by the Vancouver Canucks (powered by Tradable Bits) allows users to choose from a number of images, customize using festive stickers and share the finished product on their feed or with friends via email. This is a perfect example of marketing content that actually provides value and engages your fans. Everyone is sharing greetings and Christmas wishes during the holidays and the Canucks made it easy and fun to promote their brand at the same time.

CanucksEcard

Ashley’s Pick: The Song – Apple

The beauty of this commercial is Apple does not push its product, and instead subtly shows how the product can be used to create meaningful moments and memories in people’s lives. The commercial really pulls on a person’s heartstrings. The act of bringing something meaningful from someone’s past into the present so they can enjoy it again creates this feeling of nostalgia, which is a really powerful and relatable tool to use in order to connect with the viewer on an emotional level.

Hanah’s Pick: Have a Merry January – Interac

I had a great chuckle when I saw Interac’s ‘Have a Merry January’ campaign in 2015. The ad makes light of the post-holidays debt pandemic, while coyly reminding consumers that by making a simple choice they can avoid all the headache. 

Kyra’s Pick

Categories: MPMG