Not many of us get a whole lot of physical mail anymore, but holiday cards are a welcome addition to the mailbox. That’s why each year around this time, we track the sentiments that agencies send out in the form of holiday cards to their partners and clients to thank them for another year of business. It’s also a chance for agencies to stretch their creative muscles in different ways.
Not all of these efforts came in card form. Some were envelope worthy, others touted charitable efforts and even more utilized artificial intelligence for mirth and merriment.
The following efforts are a sampling of what agencies around the globe have put together to wish people a happy holiday season.
For charitable causes
Klick Health: “Light the Way”
The holiday season can be a lonely time for many seniors, so Klick Health released its “Light the Way” holiday video to encourage people to “be the light in someone’s day” by visiting those who could use companionship. The sentimental three-minute holiday production was created in partnership with the Tony Stacey Centre for Veterans Care (TSCVC) and shines a spotlight on the power of community and connection.
AKQA: “Little Wings”
AKQA’s “Little Wings” card was inspired by the Ukrainian folk song “Shchedryk,” more commonly known as “Carol of the Bells.” AKQA worked with award-winning production designer and artist Mariia Shub and brother, animation director Rodion Shub, both of whom were displaced from Ukraine to the U.K. with Mariia’s two daughters, to bring the story of Little Wings to life. The animated Christmas card aims to spread hope and awareness of the lives that have been impacted by the war in Ukraine this Christmas.
Movers+Shakers: Merch shop
Creative agency Movers+Shakers has launched its Merch Shop. Rather than funneling money back to the agency, however, this merch will raise funds for charities selected by M+S employees, including Planned Parenthood, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and The Trevor Project. The apparel and accessories feature industry taglines including “Work Doesn’t Have to Suck” and “Please Tell Me My Idea is Good.” What makes this a holiday card is that the agency will be distributing gift cards for the M+S Merch Shop to partners, employees and clients.
M&C Saatchi: Zero-cost card for Shelter
M&C Saatchi asked its employees’ kids to make a zero-budget, festive charity card. All the paper is from agency cupboards, the postage costs were donated by staff and the email template was done for free so the agency could donate more money to the homelessness charity Shelter. Recipients can also make a donation to Shelter via the QR code in the card.
The Variable: “Care-o-lers”
North Carolina creative agency The Variable is encouraging people to give the best gift of all—a better future for the next generation. The agency enlisted the Piedmont Youth Chorus as its “care-o-lers” to sing and share reimagined holiday classics, spreading the message of reducing gift wrap to help move toward a less wasteful holiday season.
Laughlin Constable: “Teddy”
The creative agency’s 2022 video greeting shows a woman beating the stuffing out of a teddy bear, but lest we think she is heartless, it’s all to deliver a gift for her beloved daughter. It was done with the agency’s in-house studio Hive.
Spectrum Science: The Give Card
A staggering 1.6 billion cards are bought and sent during the holiday season, with 85% of those cards ending up in the trash. The team of science-loving specialists at D.C. agency Spectrum Science have designed the Give Card, a physical holiday card which transforms into a reusable donation bag, empowering the receiver to give back to their community. Each bag has a QR code that connects to resources on how to give, nearby donation centers and social media support.
Terri & Sandy: “Santa’s Slay”
2022 was one of the worst years in history in terms of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. Terri & Sandy decided the holiday season was the perfect time to make a statement about the importance of inclusivity and acceptance. A team at the agency came together to write, illustrate and publish “Santa’s Slay,” a tale of Santa Claus breaking down gender barriers in loving support of a little boy named James. Terri & Sandy is also making a generous donation to the Hetrick-Martin Institute for LGBTQIA+ youth.
For fun and merriment
Umault: “Cold Outreach Carols”
If you’ve ever received a cold call, email, text or social DM, you know how impersonal and annoying they can be. Agency Umault decided to poke fun at those cold outreach b-to-b messages by enlisting a choir to sing carols about them. Never before has “Hi, [first name]” sounded so harmonious.
Isobel: French aristocracy
London indie agency isobel picked the richest, most opulent period of history for this year’s card theme. The crew created a flamboyant 18th Century scene featuring French aristocracy. Shot in one take, the card features Emperor Napoleon, general aristocratic opulence and wardrobe from the National Theatre.
Lafayette American: Puzzle
Every year starting in 2020, Lafayette American has designed a custom puzzle and sent it to clients, partners and employees for its annual holiday gift. The first puzzle featured an image of hands completing a puzzle. The next year was an image of hands completing the previous year’s puzzle. The third iteration is hands completing a puzzle of a puzzle of a puzzle, which makes for a tricky puzzle.
Crowley Webb: Billboard
Buffalo marketing and communications agency Crowley Webb has put up its annual holiday billboard to wish those who live locally good tidings and good ideas in the new year. The billboard can be seen on Buffalo’s I-190. In addition, the agency will also make a donation to a shelter that helps victims of domestic abuse.
Hatch the Agency: “CD on the Tree”
Hatch the Agency in Boston is taking the Elf on a Shelf concept to the creative industry with “CD on the Tree”—a creative director for the holidays. The CD on the Tree doll was custom designed and outfitted by the Hatch creative team, from sneakers to beanie.
Brownstein: #NoCookieCutterConcepts
Philadelphia-based advertising agency Brownstein took inspiration behind its #NoCookieCutterConcepts card by dreaming of a season free of cliché holiday ads—but not before they turn the ads into treats that will be eaten and never seen again.
Nail Communications: “The Christmas Stalking”
Nail Communications has launched “The Christmas Stalking,” a reinvention of a holiday classic that brings the latest surveillance tech right into your home. A promotional video for the creepy fake retail item promises to elevate the screening process that decides who’s been naughty and who’s been nice.
PPK: Ornament of tears
Every year, agencies across the globe come up with millions of amazing ideas that never get produced. On behalf of all those ideas, and the creative people that conceive of them, PPK captured the “creative tears” shed for the ideas that never saw the light of day so they may help illuminate the holidays. The tear-filled ornaments are being shipped to PPK’s clients with hopes that they will bring them joy and light.
Artificial Intelligence greetings
M Booth: “Holid-AI Cardmaker”
This holiday season, agency M Booth has created a “Holida-AI Card,” which gives recipients an opportunity to create a custom, AI-generated holiday card inspired by their year. People can go to the dedicated website and enter in their favorite activities, animals and clothing to get an AI-generated card which can be downloaded and shared. For every card created with the M Booth Holid-AI Cardmaker, M Booth is making a donation to the Food Bank of NYC.
HeyLet’sGo: AI Holiday Song
For its agency holiday video, Boston agency HeyLet’sGo thought it would be fun to see how artificial intelligence might interpret a traditional Christmas song. The agency used an AI music platform called Melobytes to create the track.
Iris San Francisco: “AIris”
The Iris San Francisco team collaborated with artificial intelligence to create a series of 100 bespoke holiday cards. Each team member contributed a single word which was used to craft a surrealist, Mad Libs-style poem. The poem was then used as an input to OpenAI’s Dall-E program to make the images.
Park & Battery: The Holid-A.I. Gift Factory
The elves at Park & Battery have been busy creating the Holid-A.I. Gift Factory. Head over to the workshop and make a unique piece of AI generated artwork for a friend, colleague, or yourself.
Real Chemistry: “Vicious Delicious”
The agency and 21 Grams made a Chrome plug-in that scans the page for hateful text and replaces it with heart-healthy recipes. It’s a plugin that uses the power of AI to turn hate into health. Once installed, users can automatically detect and replace hate speech. Now, if a grinch pops up on a feed, the user get a heart healthy recipe instead.
The Many: AI-generated cards
With a little help from AI, The Many has been able to create nearly 300 bespoke holiday cards for past, present and future clients. The team fed prompts into Midjourney for the final products.
Barrett: AI copy generator
Barrett used an AI generator to create a story to win an Adweek contest. You judge if it should be a winner.
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