Holiday Video Marketing: Creating Viral Christmas Ads

The holidays are perfect to get customers’ attention and boost sales. A well-crafted ad can promote your products or services, resonate with audiences, spread joy, and go viral. Viral advertising can be tricky, but we’ll walk you through the essentials to create a holiday campaign that could make your ad the talk of the season.

Understand Your Audience

Understanding your target audience is key to successful advertising campaigns.

During Christmas, people are keen to look for things that reflect the holiday spirit — joy, nostalgia, love, and generosity. Here are a few questions to ask:

• What emotions resonate most with your audience during the holiday?
• What challenges are they facing (e.g., gift-giving, stress, family time pressures?)
• What inspires or delights them at this time of year?

Tap Into the Spirit of the Season

Viral Christmas ads evoke emotions tied to the holidays: laughter, nostalgia, and a sense of community. Storytelling can reflect the magic of Christmas. Approaches to consider are:

Sentimentality: Create a heartwarming story about family, love, or acts of kindness.

Humor: A funny take on a relatable holiday situation, like mall crowds, awkward family dinners, or winter weather.

Surprise: Add an unexpected twist that grabs attention, such as an unconventional take on Santa Claus or a reimagining of classic holiday traditions.

Tell a Complete Story

The best Christmas ads are memorable because they tell a story, not because they push a product or service. Look up the John Lewis & Partners ad, “The Bear and the Hare,” to get an idea. The idea is to craft a narrative that aligns with your brand values but centers on characters or situations people can relate to. For example:

• A small business owner struggles to find time for their family until a surprise Christmas miracle occurs.
• A child determined to create the perfect Christmas surprise for a loved one.

Tie your product or service subtly into the storyline to make it part of the solution or highlight its value without overshadowing the story.

Embrace Visual and Musical Elements

Visual and musical cues are potent tools to create ads that stick in people’s heads. Use iconic holiday music and images during Christmas to make your ads more impactful. For example:

• Use warm, festive colors like red, gold, and green.
• Incorporate recognizable holiday symbols like Christmas trees, snowflakes, twinkling lights, or religious imagery.
• Choose music that complements the story. Whether a classic Christmas tune or an original jingle, the right music or soundtrack can take the ad to the next level and stir people’s emotions.

Make It Shareable

An ad can’t go viral if nobody sees it. Make it easy and rewarding to share. Content that resonates deeply or surprises viewers is more likely to be shared. A checklist to help includes:

Emotional appeal: People are likelier to share something that makes them laugh or cry.

A strong call to action: Encourage viewers to share the ad with people on their social media and loved ones as a part of spreading the holiday cheer.

Short and snappy content: Attention spans are shrinking, so aim for your ad’s runtime to be 60-90 seconds — long enough to tell a story and hold attention.

Incorporate Your Brand Meaningfully

While storytelling is essential, don’t forget the ultimate goal is promoting your brand. Integrate your brand into the ad without being overly salesy. For example:

• If you sell handmade ornaments, make them a key part of the storyline.
• If you’re a service-based business, position your services as the solution to the problems presented in the scenario.

Leverage Social Media & Timing

Social media platforms are vital for spreading your ad. To maximize reach, consider releasing the ad at the beginning of the holiday season so it has time to gain traction.

Promote it across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, and YouTube, where visual content thrives. Also, use hashtags like #FeelGoodHoliday, #HolidayMagic, or #ChristmasInspiration to boost discoverability.

Once the ad is on social media, engage with the audience by responding to comments and encouraging them to share their holiday stories.

Partner With Influencers or Charitable Causes

One of the best ways to boost your ad’s reach is to collaborate with a popular influencer or team up with a charity that aligns well with your campaign, values, and message. To give the ad more traction, you could donate a portion of your holiday sales to the cause mentioned in it.

Creating a viral holiday ad is challenging, but Brandtastic is here to help. We have an expert team and years of experience. Give us 30 minutes to show you what we can do for you. Contact us today!