The World Needs More Santas

Thanks to all the feel-good stories, Christmas will be filled with kindness this year. Advertisers are sensing the need for more kindness this year as well, so many of the upcoming Christmas ads have messages that share kindness, but few big brands are as tied to the winter holiday season as Coca-Cola is through decades of marketing positioning.

Coca-Cola’s latest holiday campaign continues a theme that’s been around for nearly a century, centering around Santa Claus and the spirit of kindness and joy during the holiday season. Kindness is one of Coca-Cola’s “core values” and is the focus of this year’s Christmas campaign. The message Coca-Cola wants to convey to consumers this year is that they believe the world needs more Santas and more selfless people to spread joy and warmth.

Content

The Coca-Cola Christmas movie in the ad depicts a city in which hundreds of Santas walk the streets. We can see many Santas helping other people. In this world full of Santa Claus, we can see a world of kindness and warmth. And as the train goes by, the camera switches to our world where many people help strangers as well. I think this commercial conveys to us that all of us can be Santa Claus if we pass on kindness to others. In the commercial, the viewer is actually witnessing people’s “inner Santa Claus” as they show acts of generosity and kindness, and ends with “the world needs more Santa Claus”. In addition to this, Coca-Cola will also launch a “Find Your Inner Santa” quiz on the app and mobile site that will determine a user’s “Inner Santa” type and generate an illustration that can be shared on social media.

Advantage

Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year, a day when everyone shares joy with family and relaxes and Coke tends to put people in a good mood. The combination of the two greatly increased Coke’s global popularity. In addition to using a heartwarming advertisement to make more consumers remember Coke, the idea of conveying the message can attract more potential consumers.

Opinion

I really like this advertising idea which focuses on kindness rather than product-centeredness. Yes, the world needs more Santas, especially these days. So let’s all commit to giving more during this season of giving. We can share more smiles, participate with kindness, and if you have the means, share a little something extra to make life easier for those who are struggling the most.