Among today’s creative highlights, Airbnb unveils a rare Christmas spot; Google rolls out its latest “Black-Owned Friday” spot and a Google Shopping game show with Jimmy Kimmel; and Oatly partners with rapper and songwriter Giggs for a U.K. campaign.
14 creative campaigns to know about today
Airbnb
Airbnb usually doesn’t have holiday-themed ads, but this year is an exception as the platform debuts a Santa-themed spot. Created in-house, the 60-second video playfully showcases all that can go wrong with a hotel stay—even for the big guy in red. The ad continues the brand’s animated style from its “Get an Airbnb” campaign as it narrates Santa’s hotel struggles through the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Look out for the spot during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow.
BigSmall
Here’s a pretty funny self-promo video from agency BigSmall that succinctly answers the question, “Who the F are BigSmall?” The video follows the agency’s Cannes Lions stunt in which it rented the smallest yacht (a tiny speedboat) for meetings.
Chevrolet
The automaker’s emotional five-minute holiday spot from Anomaly, directed by Tom Hooper, tells the story of a high school boy feeling the pressure to go to college when all he really wants to do is build things like his grandfather. E.J. Schultz has the details here.
Foundation to Combat Antisemitism
A new campaign, #TimeOutAgainstHate, uses the sports metaphor of a time-out to urge unity over division. VML created the campaign, which includes this spot bringing together major sports leagues and sports figures to champion the fight against hate. WPP’s Mindshare handled the media.
Google launched its fifth annual “Black-Owned Friday” campaign with a spot featuring musician GloRilla, comedian Druski and influencer Jayda Cheaves. Also, earlier this week, the tech giant launched “Can You Gift It?”—a five-episode Google Shopping game show hosted by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Five celebrity duos participated as contestants, including Ronny Chieng and Atsuko Okatsuka. Google Shopping’s broader holiday push also features spots with celebrity couple Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, as well as musicians Charli XCX and Troye Sivan. See all the spots below.
Guinness
A pint of Guinness becomes a seasonal snow globe in this short, festive holiday spot from agency Taylor.
Huggies Canada
Agency Zulu Alpha Kilo helped develop “Sound of a Hug,” a digital tool that creates sleep tracks inspired by a parent’s heartbeat to support their baby’s development.
K+
The Vietnamese TV broadcaster amusingly leans into FOMO in a spot where people who missed K+ programming blend into the background when other people are talking about it. Creative was done by agency The Friday.
Lingo by Abbott
Serena Williams joins her husband, Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian, for casual conversations over food in a branded series for continuous glucose monitor (GCM) Lingo by Abbott. “Spike Sessions” explores how the body reacts to food as the couple discuss passions, memories, wellness and how well they know each other. Agency RQ led creative.
Oatly
Rapper and songwriter Giggs partnered with Oatly to launch limited-edition dairy-free cake and custard kits, featuring custom tableware alongside Oatly Vanilla Custard. To bring the collab to life, Giggs stars as a bake shop owner in South London in a series of “Custard by Giggs” films directed by Prettybird’s Kelvin Jones.
Ontario Racing x Avling
The Canadian horseracing track teamed up with the Avling brewery to create Unfiltered Champion Ale, a beer made from the same barley that champion racehorses eat. The launch is timed to Season 2 of the documentary series “Ontario Racing Unfiltered,” streaming now. VML did the creative.
Pepperidge Farm
Fashion designer Rachel Antonoff crafted a series of four holiday cookie jars for Pepperidge Farm in a campaign from Leo Burnett. The jars feature four unique designs and colorways and are Antonoff’s modern interpretation of the classic toile de jouy pattern.
Prime Video
The streaming service on Tuesday debuted a four-part documentary, “It’s in the Game: Madden NFL,” tracing the history of the iconic EA Sports video game franchise. The Thanksgiving week launch celebrates the legacy of famed coach-turned-announcer John Madden, who called 20 Thanksgiving Day games and coined the term “turducken.”
Soapply
The mission-driven luxury soap company is running an ad in Times Square featuring a 255-character discount code (the longest Shopify allows) that gives consumers 20% off their purchases. The code is essentially Soapply’s brand manifesto. Connecticut agency Decker created the work.
Contributing: Adrianne Pasquarelli