Adweek’s roundup of agency holiday cards continues with approaches including gaming, ASMR, animated videos and a take on Drunk History.
Please find links to the rest of the roundups below:
Agency Holiday Cards 2018: Inventive and Creative Send-Offs to the Year
Agency Holiday Cards 2018: Inventive and Creative Send-Offs to the Year, Part 2
ABC Creative Group — “Drunk Christmas”
Drunk History has delighted audiences with soused historical reenactments for years, proving its formula versatile and enduring. So why not expand the approach to fiction?
That’s what ABC Creative Group did with their fun video holiday card, in which owner and creative director Travis Bort and senior art director Mike Haines attempt to tell the story of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, apparently while quite inebriated.
Things go about as expected, which is the charm of the approach really. It’s refreshing to see an agency not taking itself too seriously and using its holiday card as a way to have fun and make something entertaining.
Brownstein Group— “Choose Your Own Philly Adventure”
Who didn’t love Choose Your Own Adventure stories growing up?
For its agency holiday card, Philadelphia agency Brownstein Group took a cue from the classic series. The adventure begins with a choice between three storylines: Miracle on S. Broad Street, It’s an Advertising Life or A Religiously Ambiguous Carol.
“I think what we enjoyed most about it was seeing others in the agency use it and how much fun people had creating their stories. For it to be successful outside of the agency, we had to make sure the people who were creating it had fun using it,” Brownstein Group designer Matt Rondos said. “During our internals we had everyone fill one out and there was so much genuine laughter. That’s when we knew we had a good idea.”
Burson, Cohn & Wolfe — “Spoken Word Holidays”
The newly-merged PR agency Burson, Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) decided to let spoken word artists do the talking. Its holiday card delivers a message of unity and inclusion.
“The card became more than just a holiday greeting, but an important message about our culture, our people and our values,” executive vice president, global communications Catherine Sullivan explained.
“We love how it all came to life through the passionate and diverse voices of those featured in it,” she added. “The last thing we want to be is ordinary. In the words of one of our artists, ‘Ordinary is just being stuck on repeat.'”
Copacino+Fujikado — “Agency Holiday Card Bingo”
Seattle agency Copacino+Fujikado got meta with their agency holiday card, with a bingo card for of all the agency holiday card tropes this year. The agency then kept track on Instagram Stories. Acknowledging their own contribution, the agency provided a center space for “Getting Meta With Agency Holiday Cards #CFHolidayBingo.” If you’re wondering, oh yes, we certainly have a bingo.
Deutsch — “Pie It Forward”
Deutsch’s effort revolves around a tasty pun on “pay it forward.” At Thanksgiving, the agency sent out two pies, asking recipients to keep one pie and to share the other with someone in need. (And when it comes to pies, aren’t we all in need?)
It’s a fun way to spread a spirit of giving around the holiday season and a refreshing change of pace from usual gifts. As an added bonus, the agency got to sample pies at Sweet Lady Jane Bakery.
Digitas — “Holiday Unicorn”
The holiday season is chock-full of magical creatures, but unicorns are usually not among the ensemble cast.
Digitas seeks to change that this year, dressing up the Digitas Unicorn in festive holiday gear. Recipients of the agency’s holiday card will find the unicorn dressed according to their location and weather. Teams across the agencies U.S., Costa Rica, and India offices worked on the card, with 18 unicorn designs in total and four weather filters: “toasty, chilly, brisk, and ice-cold.”
