Everyone loves getting into the spirit of the season, whether it’s through their favorite holiday drink at Starbucks or the marathon of Christmas movies on TV. Brands and organizations can also show their own spirit and optimize on the season in a way that attracts and retains customers. Feeling the spirit in your brand can create an open and inviting culture.

To get you in the holiday mood, here are our top 10 Christmas videos that tell a Story of the season—while also telling us something about the business sponsoring the video.

10. Christmas Surprise Traffic Stop

This video shows the Lowell police force doing good for their community in a new and unexpected way. It shows that the police are there to help and serve, while giving back to the community. This fun and spirited video shows the Lowell citizens how much their police officers care about them, creating a joyous perception and culture. They then make it social with the #upliftsomeone challenge to create a ripple effect of happiness. This story is poignant and fun while also indirectly promoting the Lowell police department.

9. Sainsbury’s Official Christmas 2014 Ad

This ad brings us back to Christmas Day 1914. Upwards of 3 and a half minutes, this video uses length in a way that keeps the viewer emotionally involved in the story and plotline. The story of two sides coming together for Christmas shows that Sainsbury wants to bring people together and have an emotional impact of love this season. They then invite viewers to go deeper into the story by watching the making of the ad or the history behind the plot. This creates an episodic experience that puts people into a funnel with additional brand “touches” without actively selling anything.

8. PooPourri’s “Even Santa Poops”

This video focuses on humor, which is part of the brand voice of PooPourri. Using Christmas puns, you find out that even Santa poops… and it doesn’t always smell that great. At the end, we see the PooPourri brand “face” of the young woman in pearls and a blue dress. They then call you to action by telling you to “stay off the naughty list” by buying PooPourri.

7. “Coke For Christmas” 2017

In this year’s Coca Cola ad, we see a boy going around giving a Coke to everyone working hard this season. This isn’t new for Coke—they “reward” hard workers in a number of their annual Christmas ads. This ad is simple, short, and elegant, with poignant music that makes us feel both nostalgic and empowered. This advertisement is also linked with Coke’s radio ads, where they verbally thank people for going the extra mile with an ice cold Coke.

6. Aldi’s “Kevin The Carrot” 2017

The 2017 “Kevin The Carrot” ad is a follow up to Aldi’s 2016 campaign, which was a huge success. In that ad, Kevin wanted to meet Santa, so he had to soldier through the room (as a carrot), ending up on a reindeer’s antler. This year, we see him popping off of a snowman’s nose to get on the train to find Santa. With a Murder On The Orient Express vibe, he finds a lady carrot and falls in love. This ad mixes popular culture, humor, action, and romance to create a mini-movie about our protagonist Kevin The Carrot. This builds a new and unique brand face for Aldi.

5. Farmers “Secret Santa”

This ad Farmers, the New Zealand Department store, shows a grumpy old man—just like Scrooge—watching the neighbor kids from his window. We begin to see him soften and give back as he watches the neighbors’ lives unfold. In the end, the little boy brings Santa’s cookies and milk to the old man who has been their secret Santa all along. Farmers is promoting the products that they sell, but in a way that first promotes the magic and love of the season.

4. Barbour’s 2017 “The Story Continues”

This is Barbour’s Christmas advertisement sequel to their 2016 “Gifts They’ll Always Remember.” It follows into his adult life Billy, the boy from the beloved stories The Snowman and The Snowdog. These stories are a part of many children’s Christmases, often evoking emotions and memories from a more “innocent” time. The ad uses original footage from The Snowman and The Snowdog along with new footage to build that sense of holiday nostalgia. We know it’s an advertisement when Billy—now a dad—gives The Snowman a Barbour jacket that fits perfectly. But that doesn’t make us like the story any less; in fact, we like Barbour even more for bringing The Snowman back to life. The ending slogan, “Gifts they’ll always remember” reflects how the story of the Snowman is one you’ll always remember. Building this association between these happy feelings and Barbour instantly creates a deeper sense of brand voice and loyalty.

3. Heathrow Airport “Coming Home For Christmas”

Two teddy bears are making their way through the airport to be reunited with family. It’s both funny and sad as they navigate this maze. When they see the grandkids, they turn from teddy bears to humans. Heathrow then reminds you, “Coming Home, the best gift of all.” This ad plays on the desire to return home for the holidays in a way that encourages people to fly through Heathrow, while also enhancing the Heathrow brand voice.

2. Buster The Boxer

With over 21.5 million views, Buster The Boxer is one of the most popular Christmas advertisements. The boxer dog is longing to jump on the new trampoline Christmas gift, watching as the other animals jump on it the night before. This uses humor and storytelling to build a “holiday character” for John Lewis—in the same way that Aldi created Kevin The Carrot and Coca Cola uses their red scarf polar bear.

1. H&M’s “Come Together”

This long-form video has 6.8 million views, and it was directed by Wes Anderson. Adrien Brody plays the train conductor who saves Christmas when there’s a half-day delay. The focus on the film is less about H&M (though their logo is embedded in the corner) and more about the act of storytelling through film. Not much happens, but each moment is slowly anticipating the fun festive Christmas brunch that Adrien Brody makes happen. We see H&M connecting to the viewer in a new way outside of the materialism of retail.

The Bottom Line

It’s not always easy creating a holiday video. There’s a lot of pressure to create the perfectly branded video that will appeal to the masses. But this process doesn’t have to be stressful. Focus on telling a story. What story will relate to your brand mission? What kind of Christmas story would your brand share if it were a person sitting around the Christmas tree? Whether funny, emotional, or nostalgic, this story is the “in” into your holiday branding.

Looking for a last-minute holiday video? Contact True Film Production to create the perfect Christmas fill that will appeal to your viewers’ hearts and spirit this holiday season!

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