Lowe's Holiday Campaign Is Full of Wholesome Gratitude

As many brands lean into fantasy this holiday season to give consumers an escape from the stress of all 2020 has brought us thus far, Lowe's decided to go a different route. By partnering with some of the most wholesome people on the internet, the home improvement retailer is encouraging folks to write letters of gratitude to their homes—the place where most of us have spent way more time than expected since March. The result is a genuinely pure invitation to turn away—for a moment—from the nihilism of the past year and spend some time reflecting on what has been good. To bring the message to life, Lowe's worked with a who's who of social media's most wholesome influencers: Peter Mutabazi, a home-flipping foster dadRachel Owens, mother of a boy with a congenital heart defect and advocate for children with heart conditionsMackenzie Adams, a kindergarten teacher who went viral this year on TikTok for her remote learning videosRobert Hartwell, a Broadway star and founder of the Broadway CollectiveRaffinee Esquivel, a pediatric nurse with three toddlers who's been juggling her role as a frontline worker alongside her wife, Michaela, a surgeonRob Kenney, creator of the YouTube channel Dad, How Do I? where he gives kids the advice and how-tos that he never got while growing up without a father figure Each of those partners posted a letter to their home, thanking it for the haven it's provided this year. Kenney wrote his letter to the backyard, the space where he's filmed a lot of the videos for his "internet kids." Hartwell wrote his to the home office where he planned for and launched the Broadway Collective. Adams read some letters to home that her kindergartners wrote. The letters serve as examples, prompting viewers to consider their own homes and what's been good this year despite all the ways things haven't gone according to plan. There's "so much to consider about how important home has become to us, more so than ever before this year," Lowe's chief marketing officer Marisa Thalberg told Adweek. The holiday campaign is predicated on the classic "home for the holidays" phrase, she said, while acknowledging that it means something a little different this year. The home is "a thing that warrants gratitude," Thalberg said. "Gifting something for the home is kind of a gift for everyone." Acknowledging that many consumers aren't planning to spend as much as normal this year given the economic hit that many families have taken due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Lowe's is extending its usual holiday sales throughout the season. The longer sale window also allows consumers to avoid the rush and crowds of Black Friday shopping on a normal year. Many of those deals are also available online and via curbside pickup. As part of the "Letters to Home" campaign, Lowe's will have both virtual and physical mailboxes for consumers to drop off their own letters, and the brand will be highlighting select letters throughout the season on social media and in stores. The retailer also kicked off a three-week collaboration with T Brand Studio, The New York Times Company's in-house content studio, last weekend with a letter from T Brand senior copy editor Rhonda McClain, to her home. Lowe's kicked off a three-week partnership with The New York Times last weekend. The campaign represents a natural progression of Lowe's marketing so far this year. Early in the pandemic, the brand reminded consumers how important homes are—even when we're tired of them. Over the summer, Lowe's created a playful spot that encouraged consumers to think of home improvement projects as self-care, creating a space that's comfortable and inviting when we're spending so much at home. Looking back and thanking the home, and maybe gifting something that'll make it a little more comfortable, represents a fitting last chapter for the brand's 2020 messaging. "Maybe you still write a letter to Santa this year, but maybe what you really want to do is write a letter to home," Thalberg said. "Thank it for how it's served us—in grim moments and beautiful moments and happy moments, all year long, in ways that it's never quite served us before." Read Next: Chick-fil-A’s Christmas Ad Searches for the Magic That Can Reignite a Town’s Dimmed Spirit

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Lowe's 'Letters to Home' Holiday Campaign Is Full of Gratitude

Retailer partnered with some of the best people on the internet to encourage thanks and reflection

Kathryn Lundstrom

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Kathryn Lundstrom