The Christmas Commercial- is it worth it?

Photo Credit: Adweek

While there are many different holidays scattered throughout the year, one has come to dominate the holiday advertisement market: the annual Christmas commercial.

Seemingly starting earlier every year, the largest retailers generally begin running their Christmas commercials the first week of November. These advertisements can be reruns of classics, including Hershey’s “Holiday Bells” or M&M’s “Meeting Santa,” while others opt for a brand revamp for the season, hoping to capitalize on current trends and sentiment in new commercials.

Regardless of companies’ approach, the Christmas season is arguably the optimal time to invest in advertisement, as people are weighing their options for holiday food, decorations, presents, and activities. For many, a memorable commercial can be the tipping point.

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

The classic imagery of Christmas and holiday marketing are fundamentally tied in their inception. While the celebration of Christmas has existed for hundreds of years, many of the traditional holiday activities, such as hanging lights and decorating trees, were spawned by department stores’s marketing efforts to attract public attention.

Macy’s was one of the first stores to launch the competitive Christmas advertising season, when it captured passerbys’ notice with a dazzling holiday window display in 1874. By the early 1900s, major cities such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia were using increasingly grand and colorful arrangements. These displays featured lights, bells, garland and trees, many of the decorations we associate with this time of year.

These grand displays culminated in “unveiling events,” where stores like Saks Fifth Avenue had more public intrigue over the presentation of their holiday window display, than the actual products being sold.

Photo Credit: Envisioning the American Dream

Even the most iconic symbol of Christmas: the belly full of jelly, red-nosed man himself, Santa Claus, was popularized through holiday advertisement. While Macy’s was the first store to offer a visit with Santa in 1843, it wasn’t until The Coca-Cola Company commissioned an artist to create a family-friendly illustration of Kris Kringle holding a frosted glass of Cola that the image of Santa was solidified for years to come.

Cut to present day- the majority of holiday shopping has shifted online. And where the consumers go, the advertisers go. In 2019, online holiday shopping accounted for 54% of all holiday sales. With Covid-19 placing added barriers to in-person shopping, those numbers increased by about 20-30% for the 2020 holiday season.

With most people shifting online, one 2019 consumer survey found that 81% of consumers actually anticipated being influenced by holiday advertising. This means an effective commercial can be the difference between sticking with a go-to store or trying a new boutique. 

The 2020 holiday season had a unique challenge: capturing the spirit of Christmas in the midst of a pandemic: families and friends couldn’t gather, many lost loved ones, and businesses were struggling to stay open. While some companies stuck with nostalgia, many brands chose to embrace the new normal and run advertisements reflecting the difficult times.

One of the companies who chose the latter was Etsy, the e-commerce website that offers handmade or vintage items from artists around the world. In late October, the corporation released a 3 story advertising campaign aimed at “highlighting connection, inclusivity, and acceptance” in these unprecedented times.

On a personal note- when I was browsing YouTube in early November of 2020, I saw my first Etsy Christmas commercial. It featured a young man meeting his partner’s family for the first time at a holiday gathering. At first he feels unsure and out of place, but he recieves a personalized gift from his in-laws, letting him know he belonged all along. While a simple concept, it perfectly encapsulated those feelings of uneasiness when meeting a partner’s family for the holidays, and how one thoughtful gesture can make all the difference. The ending left me feeling warm and even a bit teary-eyed.

Photo Credit: Etsy

I immediately looked up the rest of Etsy’s commercials for the year and was not disappointed. Each one was a short film, with a heartwarming message, but most importantly, a perfect representation of the personalized products found on the website. The commercials all made a convincing argument for choosing Etsy, over its competitors, all while reflecting the heart of the holiday season.

Needless to say, 75% of my holiday shopping was done on Etsy.com last year.

The point of this minor tangent was to show how effective one commercial can be to inspire a customer’s purchase, as well as bring about consumer loyalty in an incredibly competitive market: I have now made Etsy my go-to website for finding gifts and household items.

Investing in heartfelt, unique, or memorable holiday advertising can help bring awareness to a business and result in returning customers year-round. The dating app Hinge learned this concept firsthand.

While a dating site doesn’t inherently lend itself to the traditional Christmas commercial (as it lacks the gift giving component) the company chose to capitalize on the spirit of thankfulness, creating a mass marketing campaign around their own gratitude for their successful rebrand. 

This brilliant move increased traffic to the site, well after the holidays ended, as the timing of the campaign aligned perfectly with the sentimentality of wanting a special someone to spend the holidays with.

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

The last important element of the holiday marketing season is the unique platform it provides for highlighting attention grabbing promotions. Because there is an influx of shoppers around this time, it’s the perfect opportunity to run promotions that tie in with the holiday season.

In a survey of consumers, one-third of shoppers said they were influenced by some sort of promotion when buying gifts. Running advertisements featuring a sale on even one or two items or services can attract shoppers attention and help a business stand out.

Much like the early days of advertising, businesses have the distinct opportunity to create “new” nostalgia and brand identity around the ever changing holiday traditions. Taking chances and embracing the new normal can create new memories for customers, while still offering the joy and comfort associated with this time of year.

Conversely, creating advertisements that harken back to “simpler” times can be that escape from reality so many yearn for when the Christmas lights turn on and the snow begins to fall.

Whatever avenue a business chooses, the holiday season is the optimal time to reconnect with the public and bring a bit of style and flair to the usual commercials. 

Don’t be afraid to invest a little extra in your company- tis’ the season after all!