In the final days leading up to Christmas, brands are putting out their final holiday ads and year-end reviews. Catch up on the merriest and brightest campaigns you may have missed in our Weekly Must Reads.

Google’s Year-End Campaign Celebrates 25 Years of Search

Each December, Google marks the end of another year with an ad highlighting how the year’s biggest moments translated into users’ most popular search terms. This year is special, though. To celebrate its 25^th anniversary, this year’s “Year in Search” campaign not only focuses on the biggest searches of 2023, but it also explores search data reaching back to 2004 (the first year Google started tracking search trends). Their summary includes many of the most notable stories from the past two decades, from the most searched movie cast (Harry Potter) to the most searched challenge (the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from 2014).

In addition to the primary three-minute ad, Google also created shorter tribute videos and interactive landing pages with several brand partners, including their most searched songwriter (Taylor Swift) and most searched athlete (Cristiano Ronaldo). Watch the 2023 Year in Search and read more about Google’s last 25 years here: https://www.adweek.com/media/googles-2023-year-in-search-looks-back-at-25-years-of-queries/

Apple Gift Wraps Billboards for the Holidays

Apple kept it simple for this year’s holiday campaign. In major cities across the globe, the tech brand transformed large billboards in high-traffic areas to look like their signature white shopping bags, complete with a gift-wrapped version of their Apple logo. The campaign, called “Wonder Awaits,” also continues with social media ads that explore the colorful Apple products tucked inside the gift bags.

In addition to the billboards and social ads, customers can get their hands on a real version of the holiday-themed bags when they shop in store or online with two-hour delivery. You can see their simple yet creative billboards set in cities like LA and Munich here: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/12/13/ad-the-day-huge-white-apple-bags-pop-up-major-cities

Coca-Cola & A-List Actors Tell Santa Stories

Coca-Cola is continuing their holiday advertising spree with a new series of short films, titled “The Santa Stories,” featuring some of Hollywood’s biggest names. The first two films feature directors Bryce Dallas Howard and Steven Caple Jr. along with actors Colm Meaney, Octavia Spencer, and Scoot McNairy. Both films are available on Prime Video, as well as Coca-Cola’s YouTube channel.

According to the brand’s global head of creative strategy, Coca-Cola products are central to the plot of both films. Caple Jr.’s “Ho Ho Heist” is a classic heist story that temporarily lands St. Nick in jail, while Dallas Howard’s “The Note” centers on a Scrooge-like character who finds holiday spirit in a Coke bottle. Check out the two new short films and dive deeper into Coca-Cola’s Christmas strategy here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/coca-cola-coke-christmas-campaign-hollywood-short-films/702099/

Frito-Lay Helps Santa Switch to Potato Chips

For their new holiday campaign, Frito-Lay imagines a Santa Claus who is fed up with the same old cookies and milk snack on Christmas Eve. In their latest spot, we see Santa disappointed with yet another cookie snack, leading to a nightmare about gingerbread men who come to life and attack him. The ad ends with a young father who stumbles upon Santa staring at the gingerbread cookies and offers him a bag of Lay’s instead.

According to PepsiCo Foods’ CMO, their “Share More Joy” ad is not only a playful take on Santa’s favorite treat, but also speaks to the consumers who prefer savory snacks over traditional holiday sweets. See the new one-minute ad and read more about Frito-Lay’s vision for the campaign here: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/12/08/ad-the-day-army-cookies-take-down-santa-nightmarish-frito-lay-spot