Work of the Week: 15/12/23

By now we know, Coca-Cola and Christmas go hand in hand - it’s just a simple fact of life. The brand also knows this, so this year they’ve gone arguably harder than ever before to leverage on that connection, by creating their second holiday short film anthology called ‘The Santa Stories’. 

World-class Hollywood talent directed by Steven Caple Jr. and Bryce Dallas Howard brings to our screens the cinematic vision of the two short films dubbed ‘The Note’ and ‘The No Man’. The underlying message is clear: Santa can be anyone, and frankly, the world just needs more Santas.

While other brands are scrambling to communicate effectively to various demographics here on Earth during the holiday chaos, one has taken an alternative approach. On July 26th, 2023, in a congressional hearing, we all came to find out that aliens do, indeed, exist. For MoonPie that meant one thing and one thing only - it’s time to advertise to them. 

So, they partnered with AOR Tombras to create the first campaign targeting aliens in the deserts of New Mexico. Real life UAP experts helped MoonPie put together the campaign and effectively speak to the extraterrestrials through a language that only they would understand.

It takes a big dollop of bravery to put your own brand second place, but when it comes to love being on the pedestal, The Dutch State Lottery isn’t afraid. In their newest campaign for the New Year’s Eve Draw of 2023, they tell the story of a man who travels through time with the help of a nifty little machine found in an antique store. 

The main character sees, among other things, the love of his life and the memories they’re yet to share together, but also a winning lottery ticket that he purchases that same evening, mere minutes later. 

Diligently and full of excitement, he buys the winning ticket but on his way to cash the big prize, he bumps into none other than the love of his life. As they collide, he loses grip of the ticket which flies away carried by the winter breeze. The choice is now in his hands - money or love? 

When Christmas lights are flooding our every major street it’s hard to pay attention to OOH advertising. But Apple seems to have cracked the code. With the help of TBWA\Media Arts Lab Los Angeles, the brand has placed enormous Apple shopping bags (the Christmas version) on crowded streets across Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Munich and Paris. Look for the apple with the bow - you can’t miss it!

Soup Kitchen London gives us the sombre reminder that on the same streets where we see incredible OOH advertising, live people who won’t even be able to afford dinner on Christmas. 

In a photography series called ‘Homeless Christmas Dinner’ created by Wonderhood Studios, the charity shows us 10 harrowing still-life images reflecting what those living on these streets had as their Christmas meal.

Meals that have been photographed include Kamag (42), who had a Christmas dinner consisting of ketchup pasta cooked in a hostel from long-life food donations. Paul (56), spent Christmas Day lying in hospital with a punctured lung, due to street violence, and could only eat ice cream. Wassa, (56) had a tin of baked beans that he ate cold with a supermarket wooden fork.

You can donate to Soup Kitchen this Christmas here. 

And here’s yet another iteration of the Christmas spirit. This holiday season, animation studio Panic and Club 4 Paws rallied together to remind parents and friends that pets should not be holiday gifts.

Creating a dark, but beautifully crafted animation, Panic told the story of a puppy received as a Christmas gift, whose life ends in a shelter. According to Club 4 Paws, there are more than 600 million stray animals worldwide, and one of the root causes is exactly this - pet gifting. “The takeaway is clear: don’t do it,” says the team at Panic.

MoonPie might be trying to establish a connection with aliens, but Finland has a bigger problem - connecting Finns to each other. Helsinki has long been an advocate for personal space, slowly turning itself into an introvert’s dreamscape. Evidence of this are the ‘solo benches’ across the capital, which are exactly what you might be imagining - outside chairs for one person to sit on.

Finnish NGO with over 140 years of combating loneliness HelsinkiMissio, however, didn’t agree with the sentiment. On Finland’s Independence Day, December 6th, the organisation introduced ‘buddy benches’ in every park where solo seating was available, with the message ‘Would you sit with me for a moment?’. By simply placing another chair next to the ‘solo benches’, HelsinkiMissio aimed to crush the stereotypes about Finnish people’s melancholic nature and address the wider loneliness epidemic stretching far beyond Finland’s borders.

Carlsberg and Liverpool FC have kept their partnership healthy and running for a whole of 30 years - the longest one in the English Premier League. And it just got extended for another 10.

So, as a Christmas gift to the brand and the club, they created the campaign ‘10 More Years. Inked’, to commemorate the unwavering dedication of the fans, the brand and the club to each other. Liverpool FC die-hards tattooed their forearms, biceps, backs, arms, legs, chests and inner thighs and photographs of the tattoos created a moving stop-motion for the campaign. Tim Pashen, creative director at Worth Your While said, ”After a match, you often hear the Liverpool players say, ‘We couldn’t have done it without the fans’. Well, we literally couldn’t have made this project without the fans.”