12 Best Christmas Marketing Campaigns to Stand Out

Most people enjoy spending Christmas with their family and friends. It’s celebrated with snow, lights, a Christmas tree, and, most importantly, gifts. It’s how people show their love and gratitude during this holiday. People spend lavishly; in fact, the holiday retail sales alone in November and December 2024 hit a record of $989.3 billion. 

It’s a sizeable opportunity for business owners to offer products and services that light up people’s holidays even better. However, competitors are aspiring to do the same during this time. You need to stand out to resonate with shoppers and capture their interest at the perfect time.  

Here are a few ideas for Christmas marketing campaigns that you can use to stand out and win customers’ attention, trust, and purchases. 

What Makes a Christmas Campaign Stand Out

There are several happy emotions that bloom during this holiday. You need the Chistmas marketing campaigns to strike the right emotional chords. Here are a few ideas that work: 

• Emotional Storytelling: Studies show emotional campaigns outperform rational ones in terms of sales and market share. Be it an ad, email, social, or SMS marketing, let your stories create the Christmas miracle people seek. Club jaw-dropping discounts with your stories to make them magical.
• Seasonal Branding: Strong holiday visuals and symbols instantly set the mood. Think of Santa, red stockings, presents, and plum cakes. Can’t you smell the snow already? Similarly, consistent seasonal design across all touchpoints helps build recognition.
• Generosity and Togetherness: The best Christmas campaigns tap into the spirit of giving and unity. In 2022, many campaigns put forward their campaigns under themes like kindness, nostalgia, and warmth to connect with audiences.
• Integrated Marketing Campaign: Unified campaigns across TV, social, email, in-store, print, and out-of-home advertising make a campaign more effective and sticky. Use these platforms intelligently, with the right triggers to engage customers across all channels. 

12 Best Christmas Campaigns to Inspire Marketers

There are a few examples of marketing campaigns that turned marketing budgets into emotional connections. Interestingly, they didn’t feel like marketing at all.

Resonating With Buyers Using Emotional Storytelling

Amazon, Disney, Coca-Cola, and John Lewis did this perfectly. They didn’t advertise products; they created moments that stuck long after December. 

1. Amazon’s Online Film, “Joy Is Made”

Amazon’s 2022 Christmas ad, “Joy Is Made,” is a masterpiece in emotional storytelling. 

The ad shows a girl who loves her snow globe very much. It has a tiny, magical world inside that she’s fascinated with. Her father uses Amazon deliveries to build the same magical scene from the snow globe inside their greenhouse.

This shows that the best gifts come from love and creativity, not what’s in the box. The subtle spotlight on Amazon as the solution provider effectively resonates with viewers, complementing the emotional aspect of the story. 

This tells you that great Christmas marketing campaigns work best when the story comes first and the brand second.

2. Disney’s “The Gift” Campaign on Christmas

“The Gift” is a heartwarming story about siblings, told from the viewpoint of Ella, the youngest child. It explores how she adjusts as her family grows and changes. Central to this story is a special glow-in-the-dark Mickey Mouse toy, symbolizing the connection between past, present, and future.

In the ad, Ella’s brother Max gives her the Mickey Mouse toy to help her feel less alone at night. Later, when a new baby joins the family, Ella shares the same toy with her younger sibling, welcoming them warmly into the family.

Disney tied the campaign to a cause, Make-A-Wish, and committed over $4 million since 2020 as a part of these holiday campaigns. This is how Disney won the hearts of many, without actively trying to sell.

3. Coca-Cola’s “Christmas Always Finds Its Way”

Coca-Cola is a brand that is practically synonymous with Christmas, primarily because of its long history of Christmas ads. This took an innovative turn in 2022 with “Christmas Always Finds Its Way.” Instead of a traditional ad, Coke released a trilogy of short films on Amazon Prime Video. This anthology, part of Coke’s new “Real Magic Presents” content series, was seen globally connecting people in the themes of human connection and hope. 

• The first film, Alma, follows a Mexican village renowned for its Christmas ornaments as it rediscover its spirit.
• Les Petits Mondes, the second film, shows estranged Parisian neighbors bonding over festive window displays. 
• Christmas Bites, the final film of the trilogy, is a humorous short film about a vampire meeting his girlfriend’s family. 

These films were released on Prime Video, a savvy move by Coca-Cola as more consumers skip ads on traditional TV. Amazon promoted the content heavily on Fire TV home screens, IMDb, and even custom Amazon Fresh delivery bags to drive viewership.

Coca-Cola focused less on product and more on storytelling and sentimentality. The campaign’s success underscored that brands win Christmas if they deliver feel-good experiences, not just commercials. 

4. John Lewis’ Annual Holiday Commercial

The UK’s John Lewis is a brand whose annual holiday commercials have become a cultural event. In 2022, John Lewis took a more low-key yet profoundly moving approach with “The Beginner”. 

This 90-second TV ad opens with a middle-aged man struggling to teach himself to skateboard. The man and his partner welcome a foster child, Ellie, who arrives at their home with her own skateboard in hand. He smiles and says, “I skate a bit too,” showing he learned just to make her feel at home.

The ad aimed to spotlight children in foster care, partnering with charities to encourage support for youth in care. Backed by John Lewis’s commitment to help young people leaving the care system, the campaign gained momentum in no time. 

Using Experiential Marketing to Engage The Audience

Experiential marketing appeals to the audience’s empathy, delivering a significant impact on engagement and awareness numbers: 

5. Cadbury’s “Secret Santa Postal Service”

Cadbury invited people to become “Secret Santas” by sending a free Cadbury chocolate bar, anonymously, to someone they care about. In 2022, Cadbury scaled this into a nationwide activation with a dedicated Secret Santa Postal Service.

They rolled out hundreds of purple Cadbury postboxes and digital billboards with QR codes at bus stops and malls. Scanning the QR code allowed users to send a chocolate to a chosen recipient. 

A whopping  240,000 free bars were sold so soon that Cadbury had to add more at a discounted rate. A total of 360,000 gifts were sent. 

Cadbury took the classic Secret Santa idea and turned it into a mass-participation movement. A movement so significant that companies had adapted it into an annual custom. For marketers, Cadbury’s success underscores the effectiveness of experiential campaigns that engage the audience. 

Expressing Gratitude Toward Customers

People love associating with a brand that doesn’t operate only for profits, but does something good with the profits. Here’s how these brands have leveraged this in their marketing. 

6. WestJet’s “Christmas Miracle”

Canadian airline WestJet made a name for itself with its annual “Christmas Miracle” campaigns with viral stunts focused on heartfelt acts of giving. In 2022, WestJet’s Christmas Miracle took to the skies with a program called “Miracle Miles.” On select flights, WestJet surprised every passenger with $1 for every mile flown to donate to a charity of their choice. 

A touching video of this experience served as WestJet’s holiday ad. This wasn’t a standalone gesture: it was the airline’s 12th annual Christmas Miracle, each year finding a new way to spread cheer.

In this Christmas marketing campaign, WestJet transforms a marketing expense into an act of generosity, letting customers experience the joy of giving. These genuinely uplifting stories naturally spread on social media and news, providing WestJet with huge PR value and brand warmth. 

Creating FOMO with Deals, Discounts, and Shipping Urgency

Brands help customers realize the special purchasing opportunity curated for them. The messaging is set in a way that shoppers feel the urge to purchase as soon as possible. 

7. Novica Creating FOMO With Shipping Urgency

Emails serve as a great reminder to engage shoppers who are still undecided about their purchasing decision. Novica used shipping urgency to encourage buyers to shop and get gifts delivered before Christmas. Reminders like these increase sales as they give the needed nudge to check out ASAP and get products delivered fast.

Similarly, you can create a sense of FOMO with BOGO deals or astonishing discounts available for a limited time. 

CleverTap helps automate such emails based on set triggers, making it easier for you to reach out to hundreds of thousands of shoppers at the right time. It offers segmentation capabilities to keep the messaging personalized and relevant for the recipient. 

Read in detail: What is FOMO marketing? Tactics and strategies you need to know.

Breaking The Norm on Social Media

Many brands employ a contrarian approach on social media to create market buzz. Here’s an example of a brand that does it perfectly. 

8. Urban Company’s #AVeryUCChristmas

Indian start-up Urban Company put a clever twist on the classic Secret Santa tradition with its #AVeryUCChristmas campaign in 2022. Branded as the “Not So Secret Santa” challenge, Urban Company invited its social media followers to openly tag friends or family and mention an Urban Company service they wanted to give them. 

They did not keep the gift a secret. Instead, they publicly announced what to gift and to whom. This contrarian approach generated hype in the market. UC sweetened the deal with ₹50,000 worth of service coupons to lucky participants, incentivizing engagement. 

A flood of comments and tags significantly increased the brand’s social reach and engagement.

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Dare to break the norm on social media. Even something as universal as Secret Santa can be reimagined. Urban Company’s campaign does this exceptionally well, providing a fun and easy way for participants to engage. 

Leveraging Consumer Anticipation

Providing customers with an interactive experience in marketing campaigns generates significant engagement. It lets you deliver to your consumer’s anticipation. Take a look at how Spotify and Starbucks do this. 

9. Spotify’s Holiday Tradition

Spotify’s Wrapped has become a highly anticipated December tradition for millions of users. It effectively uses personalization, social sharing, and gamification to turn user data into engaging content. 

Every year, Spotify compiles users’ personal listening data into a fun, shareable “year in review” of their top songs, artists, and genres. 

In 2023, over 156 million Spotify users engaged with Wrapped, which dominated the Twitter and Instagram feeds worldwide. The campaign managed to inspire 425 million tweets within the first three days that year.

Spotify sustains the buzz by running an OOH campaign parallel with witty billboards that highlight global listening trends and even celebrity cameos. This approach showcases how Christmas marketing campaigns can effectively span both digital and offline touchpoints.

This campaign kept the user at the center. Each user’s recap feels like a gift or reward, which encourages them to share. Spotify utilizes integrated marketing, starting in-app and then expanding to social media and even real-world ads. 

Did you know? CleverTap enables you to automate in-app notifications and pop-ups, as well as personalize messaging for your audience across various channels. 

10. Starbucks’ Holiday Themed Cups

Each November, Starbucks switches to festive, holiday-themed to-go cup designs, a tradition that has been ongoing since 1997 and has now developed its own fan following. 

The company reveals a new holiday cup design, which creates excitement among customers. It quickly becomes social media chatter. The idea is simple, but it’s proven to be enormously effective. 

The festive cups create a buzz and increase brand awareness worldwide. It signals the start of the holiday season.

This branding with seasonal visuals and traditions creates anticipation and free publicity as they’re distinctive and emotionally resonant. 

You might like to read: 22 Christmas marketing ideas to boost your sales this holiday season.

11. Macy’s “Believe” Letters to Santa

For over a decade, Macy’s department store has run its “Believe” campaign, which masterfully combines customer participation, nostalgia, and charity. The idea is straightforward: write a letter to Santa, and for each letter, Macy’s donates $1 to Make-A-Wish. Macy’s sets up “Believe Stations” in its stores with big red mailboxes, and also accepts letters online. 

The PR value is significant, but more importantly, Macy’s has woven itself into the fabric of the holiday season as a brand that cares about giving. 

This is an excellent example of Cause marketing. It’s a selfless act that perfectly aligns with holiday values. From a holiday perspective, it drives store traffic and a massive positive sentiment. 

If you want to use such a campaign and engage with the audience whenever they’re near a station, CleverTap enables you to do so with its omnichannel customer experience orchestration tool. The platform will trigger a push notification to the customer’s phone, along with an automated email promoting the cause-focused campaign. 

This will enable you to offer a personalized experience at every touchpoint, ensuring your brand remains top-of-mind when shoppers are ready to make a purchase.

Celebrity Endorsement Creates a Strong Social Hype

Collaborating with a celebrity can instantly hype your brand and make it go viral on social media. Here’s how LEGO did it in its collaboration with Katy Perry: 

12. LEGO’s “Build to Give” Holiday Campaign

Toy maker LEGO went big and playful with its 2022 holiday campaign, literally handing the creative reins to kids. In a global ad titled “Play Is Your Superpower”, a group of children imagine and build an oversized LEGO sleigh to deliver presents in their community. 

The kids are running the show, behind the camera and in front, emphasizing a narrative that “play, not perfection, brings people together”.

To add extra sparkle, pop superstar Katy Perry makes a cameo at the end of the ad. The children ride out on their fantastical LEGO sleigh and encounter Katy Perry dressed in LEGO brick-inspired fashion. Backed by Perry’s hit song “Firework,” the ad delivered on excitement while keeping kids’ creative empowerment at its heart.

Beyond the ad, LEGO’s campaign was truly a 360-degree integrated campaign and was supplemented by content of kids interviewing Katy Perry and a behind-the-scenes look at building the giant LEGO gift. 

LEGO’s campaign not only created a joyful, relatable message for families but also reinforced LEGO’s brand mission about creativity. 

What Marketers Can Learn from These Campaigns

These Christmas marketing campaigns span different industries, budgets, and creative approaches, but share common threads that make them memorable. 

• Storytelling Over Selling: The most memorable Christmas campaigns focus on selling the story and not the product. From Amazon’s devoted father to John Lewis’ skater foster-dad, storytelling builds a connection that hard selling can’t. 
• Tap into Nostalgia and Warmth: Many award-winning campaigns evoke nostalgic feelings or heartwarming emotions like family, childhood memories, and classic holiday feels. This isn’t by accident. Nostalgia creates comfort and positive associations.
• Seasonal Branding Matters: Small touches like festive packaging, holiday hashtags, or limited-time designs have an outsized impact. Starbucks’ red cups and Macy’s Santa mailboxes show that consistent seasonal branding builds anticipation and sets you apart in the holiday clutter. 
• Experiences Beat Discounts: Very few of the examples above involved “50% off” or straight sales promotions. Instead, they focused on evoking human emotions. Experiential and value-driven campaigns create lasting recall. For example, WestJet gave passengers a story to tell, not a price cut.
• Shareability and Participation Amplify Reach: The marketing campaigns that really took off were built with a social or participatory component. Spotify turned users into marketers by making their year-in-review shareable. 

Need inspiration for your seasonal campaigns? Explore 18 Christmas advertisement examples that capture attention and drive results.

Tips to Launch Your Own Christmas Campaign

Understanding what works is just the first step. The real challenge lies in translating these insights into your own campaign strategy. Here’s how you can channel these lessons into actionable steps for your next holiday marketing effort.

• Start Early to Capture Attention: Don’t wait till the last moment. Many buyers begin planning their holiday early, from Halloween. Begin with a pre-launch or teaser campaign to start seeding your campaign early and build anticipation, ensuring you’re on customers’ minds before the noise peaks.
• Leverage Personalization and Segmentation: Your buyer’s phone probably gets flooded with offer messages during the sale seasons. Make yours feel personally relevant. Use customer demographics and data to segment your audience and tailor offers or creative content.
• Match Message to Emotions: Decide the core emotion or value you want to evoke. If you’re pushing a warm, family-friendly vibe, maybe a storytelling video is in order. Suppose it’s about the joy of giving, perhaps a charity tie-in or user-generated giving stories. The key is authenticity.
• Prioritize Experiences Over Just Discounts: Experience value-adds differentiate your campaign. Remember, holiday consumers are emotional;  they’re drawn to brands that entertain, inspire, or uplift them, not just those with the cheapest deal.

How CleverTap Helps You Build a Winning Holiday Campaign

CleverTap lets you address the scale of outreaches while ensuring the necessary elements are still intact. CleverTap’s TesseractDB™ and AI-powered customer segmentation tools analyze historical and real‑time behavior to define audience traits. 

For example, you can classify shoppers in categories like high-spenders, seasonal shoppers, or gift seekers. It lets you tailor messages accordingly. On the platform, marketers can dynamically insert product names, countdown timers, or geo-sensitive deals into push, email, in-app, or web notifications. 

CleverTap’s Journeys lets you build multi-step automated flows, like abandoned cart nudges or holiday countdowns, across multiple channels.  Micro-segments like “gifts-browsed>3” make it easier to target shoppers with time-sensitive offers. 

AI predicts churn risks and purchase intent, letting you proactively re-engage at-risk customers or deliver relevant upsells. 

There are various other advantages that CleverTap’s engagement platform delivers to marketers, including: 

• Trigger On-The-Fly Messaging: Creative holiday tactics like flash deals or personalized freebies can be triggered in real time.
• Urgency and Scarcity Signals: Capitalize on the holiday rush by delivering alerts like “Only three left!” based on real-time inventory and trends. 
• Built-in A/B testing with Clever AI: Test subject lines, creative banners, or channels in live campaigns. CleverTap identifies top performers and automatically optimizes for the best results.
• Real Impact Dashboard: Monitor metrics such as open rates, conversions, revenue, and retention to evaluate what’s working during the holiday season. 
• Unified messaging: Orchestrate push notifications, SMS, email, in-app, web messages, and even RCS or WhatsApp, all within one platform. It ensures consistent and coherent messaging across the holiday journey. 

CleverTap customers have achieved a higher ROI from holiday campaigns, with a 10 times higher push notification CTR than the industry average. 

Final Thoughts: Make This Holiday Count

The most memorable Christmas campaigns don’t just sell products but also evoke emotion, spark nostalgia, and offer shared experiences. Through storytelling like Disney and Amazon or participation like Spotify and Cadbury, your brand can also tap into the spirit of the season to build lasting connections. That’s what drives attention, trust, and purchases.

As you plan your own campaign, focus on what makes the holidays meaningful to your customers. Then pair that with smart automation, personalized messaging, and seamless omnichannel delivery. CleverTap helps you do exactly that, at scale and with precision. Try CleverTap to make your next holiday campaign unforgettable. Talk to us today!