NY Times Marketers Find Ways to Link Their Brands to the Season By _STUART ELLIOTT_ (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/e/stuart_elliott/index.html) Published: November 28, 2012 ONE of the more unusual traditions of Christmas in America is the skein of commercials with holiday themes that appear each year — not only from retailers, which would be expected to advertise in the mad dash to Dec. 25, but also from marketers outside that realm. Brands like _Coca-Cola_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TMwBFK2qHI) , _Miller beers_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGTQOzgUg0k) _and Norelco_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y888mx7hMZ0) have become known for decades of seasonal greetings. For 2012, more such marketers are bringing out holiday campaigns. Executives say the potential rewards they could reap from ads that stimulate demand outweigh the risks of wasting money by getting lost in the crush of Christmas ads. “The holidays have always been key to the shipping side of our business,” said Steve Pacheco, director of advertising at FedEx. So he said it made sense to introduce a Christmas-themed campaign for the FedEx Office chain to remind consumers “who walk past these stores the other 364 days of the year that there are services inside to ‘de-stress’ your holiday.” There are three lighthearted commercials, created by BBDO New York, that poke fun at Christmastime mainstays like _Black Friday sales_ (http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=pJV05_K0XlY) , buying gifts _at the last minute_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wanjAjXy9XY) and how shoppers _expect to find Santa Claus_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZM-LNqUcY8&feature=relmfu) in all sorts of stores. The campaign was inspired by an insight that “the holidays bring out the best, and the worst, in people,” Mr. Pacheco said. “We’re saying: ‘You need help. We have help. Come see us.’ ” Mr. Pacheco said he believed the commercials would be noticed amid the throngs of Christmas ads because they speak in the wry, dryly humorous “tone, style and manner” that FedEx uses throughout the year. To celebrate the national introduction of a Christmas version of the Peeps Easter chick, Just Born is bringing out a campaign that proposes Peeps Candy Cane Flavored Dipped Marshmallow Chicks as the perfect way to acknowledge the holiday season as “a time for peace, love, joy and reconciliation.” The campaign, by a New York agency named the Terri & Sandy Solution, suggests that consumers send “Peeps Offering” e-cards to each other through portals _like Facebook_ (http://www.facebook.com/PeepsBrand) and the _Peeps Web site_ (http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/) . “We’ve been doing Christmas products for some time,” said Mark Hoffman, senior brand manager for Peeps and seasonal products at Just Born. He cited items like Peeps reindeer, snowmen and trees. With the new Christmas chicks, “we felt we could bring a little more to the party,” Mr. Hoffman added, particularly after a test version of the product “did fabulously well” last year at Walmart stores. The e-cards are meant to tap into what Sandy Greenberg, co-president at Terri & Sandy with Terri Meyer, called the “cultish phenomenon” surrounding Peeps. She noted “the dioramas constructed with Peeps,” _playful skits about the brand_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFx0knEoppY) on programs like “Late Show With David Letterman” and _videos uploaded to YouTube_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cj3hGpCHYQ) in which “people put Peeps in the microwave and blow them up.” The e-cards, to be available starting on Monday, feature the new Christmas Peeps next to mock apologies like “I’m sorry I sneezed in your eggnog,” “ I’m sorry you slipped on the snow that I didn’t shovel” and “I’m sorry for using mistletoe as an excuse to kiss your mom.” Another Christmas newcomer is the Smart Balance line of dairy products, which has a significant presence in social media _like Facebook_ (http://www.facebook.com/smartbalance) _and Twitter_ (https://twitter.com/SantasCookies) . The premise of the campaign, from TBC in Baltimore (formerly Trahan, Burden & Charles), is laid out _in a commercial_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hXYWWoAyM) in which a doctor tells Santa Claus during a physical to “ start cutting back on the bad stuff” like “high-fat milk and cookies.” Santa turns to his mobile device and sends a message to his Twitter followers: “Doc says I need better milk & cookies! #HelpSanta.” Help, according to the campaign, comes in the form of Smart Balance Blended Butter Sticks, Smart Balance Spreadable Butter and Canola Oil, and Smart Balance Fat Free Milk and Omega-3s. “Steve always said, ‘We ought to do a spot for the holidays,’ ” said Allan Charles, chairman and creative director at TBC, referring to Stephen Hughes, chairman and chief executive at Smart Balance. The expansion of the Smart Balance blended-butter line was a catalyst for finally doing that. Many consumers who use spreads during the year “shift to butter” for baking and other purposes during the Christmas season, Mr. Hughes said, so the company would “pull over to the sideline” at this time of year. “This is an opportunity to give people a simple step in the right direction to make it a healthier holiday,” he added. ADT Security Systems is running its first holiday-centric commercial for the ADT Pulse interactive system, which was introduced in 2010. The campaign, with a budget estimated at $7.8 million, is being created by Doner in Southfield, Mich., part of MDC Partners. _The commercial_ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQbJWfAxLY4) gives the ADT Pulse’s everyday tasks a seasonal twist. “ADT can help you turn on a few lights,” an announcer says, as on screen a house lavishly decorated with Christmas lights is illuminated, and “even let you know when an old friend has arrived,” he adds, as two children in bed use a tablet to watch a video feed of Santa Claus captured by a living room camera. “By tapping into the magic of the season, we believe we can better connect with consumers to demonstrate how our offerings help to enhance their lives,” said Sarah Cohn, a spokeswoman at ADT. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
