Among today’s creative highlights, Ocean Spray and Tesco unveil their highly anticipated holiday campaigns; Hennessy and Lidl both turn heads in Ireland; and Visit Sweden tries to become the first group to trademark a country’s name.

BJ’s Wholesale Club: The wholesale retailer brings back its newscaster characters, which debuted in 2023, for a holiday campaign from Terri & Sandy. See one spot below, and the others here and here.

Disney: A mini octopus named Blub Blub befriends a boy on a beach, kicking off a charming Christmas story in adam&eveDDB’s short Disney film for the holidays.

Etsy: Along with its charming “Waldo” spot from Orchard, Etsy made a second holiday commercial, created in-house, that tells the story of a family dog. You may need a few tissues for this one.

Hennessy: New York- and Paris-based creative agency forceMajeure created a campaign for the 300th anniversary of Richard Hennessy’s birth, featuring Irish street artists Maser and Conor Harrington.

Lidl: With celebrity lookalike competitions on the rise, supermarket chain Lidl and agency Droga5 Dublin quietly organized a Paul Mescal competition in Ireland ahead of the actor’s appearance at the Irish premiere of “Gladiator II.”

Lidl made videos and posters urging Mescalikes to meet and compete. At the event, the brand revealed itself to be the organizer, giving out vouchers and a comically large €20 check to the winner.

NBA G League: Meet “Himothy,” whose obsession with the NBA G League—home of many of the NBA’s incoming stars—makes him an oracle of the game. Creative from Majority will air across NBA TV, ESPN networks, Tubi, Roku and NBA G League digital platforms.

Ocean Spray: Orchard’s “Just Add Cran” campaign continues with two spots starring Johnny, the brand’s farmer character. One spot, for cranberry juice cocktail, reprises the head-banging vibe from Ocean Spray’s famous 2022 holiday spot. A second spot, for cranberry sauce, shows viewers how to spruce up (almost) any holiday dish.

Pinterest: Finding a gift for a loved one just got easier in a holiday campaign from Pinterest that features 1,000 gift guides curated by creators and celebrities on the platform, such as Paris Hilton, RuPaul, Emma Chamberlain and K-pop girl group Twice. 

Developed in-house, the campaign features creators including Lumberjack Bradley Thor, 92-year-old Grandma Droniak, comedian Zarna Gar and actress and comedian Nicole Byer in playful spots where they swap tales of the presents people always assume they’d want—until Pinterest saves the day with less predictable gifts.

Prime Video Italy: Ogilvy promoted “Citadel: Diana,” a new Prime Video show starring Matilda De Angelis as a civilian-turned-spy, by having watchful Italian grandmothers stand on balconies in Lucca, Italy, with banners such as “Anyone could be a spy,” “Spies never retire” and “Espionage is a tradition here.”

Ronald McDonald Foundation: The charity celebrates its 30th anniversary with an animated film from TBWA\Paris that tells the moving story of a boy’s journey from his home to his hospital room. It was directed by Juan Pablo Machado, the Colombian filmmaker with a Japanese style, best known for creating the iconic Lofi Girl character.

Tesco: The U.K. supermarket’s three-minute holiday film from BBH London tells the story of Gary, a young man grieving the loss of his grandmother but still trying to find the Christmas spirit. It was directed by Alaska at Iconoclast.

Tonal: A cinematic spot from agency Quality Experience and director Aube Perrie visits centuries past to make compelling point about the future of fitness.

Visit Sweden: In a tongue-in-cheek campaign playing off the trope of “dupes,” Visit Sweden wants to trademark the country’s name to differentiate it from other places in the world called Sweden. Forsman & Bodenfors devised the campaign.

WestJet: Working with agency Rethink, the airline orchestrated a surprise for passengers arriving at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG) on Nov. 8—the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup arrived on the baggage carousel with other luggage. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders the next day to advance to the Grey Cup game.

Wounded Warrior Project: The “Warriors On Board” campaign from agency The Many features skateboard art designed by veterans and infused with stories of resilience and perseverance. The campaign targets Gen Z, a demographic with less of a connection to military culture than prior generations.

Xfinity: A spot from Goodby Silverstein & Partners delves into the magic of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s journey to playing Glinda and Alphaba in the movie version of the hit musical “Wicked.”

See all our daily creativity roundups here.