At EWISE, we love it when the holiday season comes around, because it means that we can work on some fun and festive holiday marketing campaigns for our clients. As marketers, we enjoy seeing the creative minds in our industry come together to create national and international holiday marketing campaigns for everyone’s favorite brands. This year, we want to give kudos to three awesome brands that released heartwarming commercials. We want to acknowledge the strategy and thoughtfulness behind each of these ad campaigns.
Here are our top three holiday ad campaigns of 2023.
Capturing the Sweet Nostalgia of the Holiday Season
Amazon’s “Joy Ride” Commercial
The EWISE team was absolutely touched by this commercial from Amazon. From the storyline to the music choice, we believe this ad has a great message for the holiday season!
Putting our marketing hats on, we can see that Amazon wanted to create a commercial that spoke to all audiences, evoked a sense of nostalgia, and showed that its marketplace has what everyone needs to create memories that will last a lifetime. With the focus of the ad being on three women, we see how Amazon helped make it possible for the three women to relive a moment of their childhood—sledding down a big, snowy hill with seat cushions from Amazon for added support and safety.
This ad provided the perfect mix of sweetness, humor, and nostalgia. What more could you want in a holiday commercial?
Reinforcing Brand Awareness Through an Identifiable and Admirable Theme
Coca-Cola’s “The World Needs More Santas” Commercial
Every year, the EWISE team looks forward to Coca-Cola’s Christmas ads. This one did not disappoint!
Coca-Cola’s “The World Needs More Santas” campaign is very heartfelt, and the commercial is less about touting the soda brand and more about showing kindness to others. As we watch a city full of Santas do good deeds for one another, we hear the lyrics to the song “I Could Be Santa Claus.” At the end of the video, the city of Santas transforms into a city with everyday people, continuing to show each other kindness in the same spirit as Santa Claus.
The strategy behind this video ties in nicely with a theme we’ve seen Coca-Cola use many times before, which is that the soda brand fosters joy and helps people build stronger relationships with one another.
Overall, the EWISE team loves this ad because it’s true to the Coca-Cola brand, and it captures the heart of the holidays.
Understanding The Target Audience’s Gift-Giving Pain Points
Etsy’s “Mission: Impossible” Commercial
Let’s face it—we all have someone in our lives who’s difficult to shop for around the holidays. You could say it’s “Mission: Impossible.” It’s clear that Etsy’s marketing team took inspiration from the movie franchise, going as far as writing creative song lyrics to the iconic movie’s theme song and tagging the beginning of the ad as “Gift Mission: Dad” to set the scene. The EWISE team loves this ad, and many of us can relate to it ourselves!
From a marketing strategy perspective, we think this ad does a great job of showing the audience WHY they need to use Etsy this holiday season. When it comes to reaching your target audience effectively, it’s important to target a common pain point among your audience members and offer your brand’s solution. Etsy does that in this commercial—let’s break it down.
The pain point: Etsy is targeting individuals who are struggling to find a gift for their family member who insists on not wanting anything for Christmas. The question here is, “What do you get for someone who says they don’t want anything?”
The solution: “Etsy has it.” The ad conveys that Etsy’s marketplace offers a wide variety of personalized gifts that are sure to impress your loved ones (even those without a wish list) this holiday season.
We think this ad is a great one, and we love that Etsy has created many variations of this campaign to appeal to different gift givers, like parents and significant others. Even more so, the “Mission: Impossible” theme is so fitting, and Etsy’s marketing team did a great job incorporating this theme.
Holiday Marketing Inspiration is Everywhere
The holiday season is full of creative marketing everywhere you look. From commercials to billboards, to social media ads and marketing emails, many brands will infuse the holiday spirit into their brand messaging this holiday season.
The EWISE team wishes you the happiest of holidays and great marketing success in the new year! Interested in learning more about our holiday marketing strategies for brands and how we can take your brand to the next level? Contact us and let’s start strategizing!