Christmas marketing campaigns
Not the prettiest Christmas ads, the ones people shared. Grouped into 4 formats, with a one-line idea for your brand and a budget guide on each.
Doable with a small team, gifting or a simple partner swap.
Needs a paid creator, some production or a co-branded product run.
Celebrity fees, TV airtime or a large custom build.
Budget is our estimate of what it would take to run the same idea yourself, not what the brand spent.
The tearjerker film
8 examples
Story: one [PERSON] and one small Christmas problem Turn: an act of kindness or a twist in the last 20 seconds Product: part of the plot, not a pack shot Length: 90 seconds to 4 minutes
Budget: Big. Film production and media for the season.
The Man on the Moon
A girl sees a lonely old man on the moon through her telescope and finds a way to send him a gift.
Result Passed 6 million YouTube views soon after release.
Why it spread
The John Lewis Christmas ad had become an annual event people waited for, and this one gave them something to cry at together. Source
#heimkommen
An elderly man fakes his own death so his busy family will finally come home for Christmas.
Result City AM named it the early winner over that year's John Lewis and Sainsbury's ads.
Why it spread
A shocking twist on a feeling many families recognise made people share it and argue about it. Source
The Bonnie Tyler twist
A schoolboy sings and dances to Bonnie Tyler until the reason behind his song is revealed: his family is in temporary accommodation.
Why it spread
A joyful start makes the twist hit harder, and it makes a statistic personal. Source
The Perfect Gift
A four-minute Christmas romcom starring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson, riffing on Love Actually, with food at the centre of the story.
Why it spread
It plays like a short film people choose to watch, and the Love Actually link lands with a Christmas audience. Source
The Big Bad Wolf goes veggie
A Christmas film about a wolf tired of being the villain, who changes his diet to make friends.
Why it spread
A familiar villain with a new story is a fresh take in a season full of human tearjerkers. Source
Best Christmas Ever
A holiday short directed by Taika Waititi about a girl whose Christmas doodle comes to life.
Why it spread
A short film people choose to watch, with a recognisable tune and a warm story. Source
Where Love Lives
A teenage son uses a 90s club track to tell his dad what he can't say, launching John Lewis's new music offer in store.
Why it spread
The ad sells the thing it's about: music as a gift. Source
Snapper the tree
A boy grows a Venus flytrap as his Christmas tree, and it causes chaos.
Why it spread
A lighter, funnier take from a brand people expect to make them cry. Source
Solve a festive pain
6 examples
Pain: [SMALL CHRISTMAS PROBLEM] (wrapping, forgetting, travelling, hosting) Fix: [FREE / BOOKABLE / SURPRISE SOLUTION] When: [1–2 KEY DAYS] Stat: one survey number that proves the problem
Budget: Small to mid. Most are a simple service plus a press release.
Christmas Miracle
Passengers told a video Santa what they wanted for Christmas before their flight. WestJet staff bought the gifts and had them on the baggage carousel when they landed.
Result Earned the airline millions of dollars' worth of free advertising, per Forbes.
Why it spread
Real reactions to real gifts, filmed in one day, beat any scripted Christmas ad. Source
Secret wrapping rooms
Travelodge offered parents free 75-minute hotel rooms stocked with wrapping paper, tape and mince pies, so they could wrap presents in secret.
Why it spread
It solves a small, real Christmas problem, which makes it an easy story for the press. Source
Gingerbread S.O.S.
An emergency cookie delivery service on 23 and 24 December for parents who'd forgotten Santa's treats.
Why it spread
Built on a survey stat about forgetful parents, it gave the press a number and a funny service to write about. Source
Letters to Santa
Orange post boxes in airports so children flying at Christmas could post letters to Santa, after research found 71% worried he wouldn't find them.
Why it spread
A small worry children really have, solved in the place they'll be. Source
Pigs in blankets bucket
Free sharing buckets of pigs in blankets for "Friendsmas", backed by research on the nation's favourite festive food.
Why it spread
A survey stat plus a free offer gives the press a light story. Source
The hangover discount
Over the holiday season, a facial recognition tool gave people a Whopper discount based on how hungover they looked in a selfie.
Why it spread
A selfie mechanic people want to try and screenshot, tied to a feeling everyone has in party season. Source
Festive merch and drops
7 examples
Product: a Christmas [JUMPER / CALENDAR / TOY / SUPERSIZED ITEM] Hook: built on [YOUR ICON / BESTSELLER / RUNNING JOKE] Run: limited, [NUMBER] units Drop: early December, one announcement
Budget: Small to big. A jumper run is cheap; a recurring character is a long-term investment.
The Scamvent Calendar
An advent calendar with chocolates shaped like the most commonly scammed products of the year, plus fraud tips behind each door.
Why it spread
It turns a dull safety message into a festive object people want to show off. Source
Owl on the Prowl
Duolingo released a four-track Christmas album built on its owl's reputation for guilt-tripping notifications.
Why it spread
It extends a character people already know into a new format, so fans share it as part of the running joke. Source
The Windows Ugly Sweater
Microsoft releases an ugly Christmas sweater every year built on old Windows nostalgia. The 2022 one featured Clippy.
Why it spread
Nostalgia for old software is something people are happy to wear, and a yearly drop gives fans something to wait for. Source
The turkey-sized meatball
IKEA sold a 4.5kg meatball as a Christmas dinner centrepiece, with lingonberry jam and cream sauce.
Why it spread
It's an absurd scale-up of a product everyone associates with IKEA, which makes it instantly shareable. Source
Foot Pints
Winter boots whose soles leave pint-of-Guinness-shaped footprints in the snow.
Why it spread
A small, clever detail people want to own and show off. Source
The Bouillon Bag
A mini designer-style handbag that holds exactly one Knorr stock cube.
Why it spread
It parodies tiny luxury bags and makes a stock cube a fashion accessory. Source
Kevin the Carrot
Aldi's Christmas ads star a carrot called Kevin, who returns each year and sells as a plush toy.
Why it spread
A recurring character gives people something to look forward to and collect. Source
Play on a Christmas tradition
9 examples
Tradition: [FAMOUS FILM / AD / DEBATE / RITUAL] Twist: [ONE CHANGE THAT MAKES YOUR POINT] Format: [SHORT FILM / EVENT / LIST] Timing: when people are already talking about it
Budget: Small to big. A data list is cheap; recreating a film is not.
The truck that doesn't stop
Save the Children recreated Coca-Cola's famous Christmas truck ad, then added a twist to make a point about what matters at Christmas.
Why it spread
Borrowing a very familiar ad gets attention immediately, and the twist lands because everyone knows how the original goes. Source
It's Pixel, actually
Google recreated scenes from Love Actually with two of its original cast to show the Pixel 10's zoom.
Why it spread
It borrows the UK's most searched Christmas film at the time of year people rewatch it. Source
Home But Not Alone
Macaulay Culkin returns as Kevin McCallister, now bubble-wrapping his ageing mum's front yard, for an in-home senior care company.
Why it spread
A famous Christmas character updated for a real worry adult children have about their parents. Source
Your Tree on Battersea
The public designed Christmas trees on iPad, and 24 winning designs were projected onto Battersea Power Station.
Why it spread
People share their own work, so every winner promotes the campaign. Source
The tin on trial
Judge Rinder put Quality Street's new paper tubs "on trial" against the old tin, playing defence, prosecution and judge.
Why it spread
A packaging change people might complain about became the joke. Source
The Home Alone house
Fans could step into a recreation of the Home Alone house in London, with photo spots and props.
Why it spread
A set people know by heart becomes a place they want to be photographed in. Source
To Bounty or not to Bounty
A debate at the Oxford Union on whether the Bounty should stay in the Celebrations tub.
Why it spread
It takes a long-running argument everyone has and gives it an absurdly serious stage. Source
Naughty and nice cities
Uber ranked UK cities by average rider rating and gave £50 train credit to riders on the "nice list".
Why it spread
Its own data turned into a festive league table local media want to report. Source
Holidays Are Coming
The illuminated Coca-Cola trucks ad, later turned into a real truck tour that visits towns before Christmas.
Why it spread
Repeating the same ad every year turned it into a tradition people wait for. Source
How to plan a Christmas campaign
- Decide what you want people to do (visit, gift, remember you), then pick the format that fits.
- Find one small, true Christmas moment. The best campaigns are specific, not general.
- Plan from September. Press and creators book their Christmas coverage early.
- Build in something people can share: a film, a free service, a limited product.
- Keep it going: the brands that win every year repeat the same idea.
Launching a gift product this Christmas?PRpackage.com gets your product reviewed and ranking in time for the season.
See brand packagesChristmas marketing campaigns: FAQ
What are the best Christmas marketing campaigns?
Well-known examples include John Lewis's Man on the Moon, Edeka's #heimkommen, WestJet's Christmas Miracle and Coca-Cola's Holidays Are Coming trucks.
When should you start a Christmas campaign?
Most brands plan from September and launch in early to mid November, when the big Christmas ads arrive and people start searching for gifts.
What Christmas marketing ideas work for small businesses?
Solving a small festive problem (wrapping, last-minute gifts, hosting) or a limited Christmas product both work on a small budget. Filter by Small budget.
Why do Christmas ads go viral?
They combine emotion with a moment everyone shares, so people pass them on to family and friends.
More viral marketing examples
By industry and season
Spot a mistake or know a campaign we should add? Email team@odim.co.