Holiday commercials. They can warm your heart, inspire you and of course…teach you valuable marketing lessons. Here are five commercials from this holiday season plus the financial services marketing lessons you need to keep things holly jolly going into the new year.
1. Waitrose’s Holiday Rom-Com
U.K. supermarket chain Waitrose made this year’s holiday advertisement into a miniature romantic comedy. The commercial tells the story of Phil, a widower who can only move on with one woman – actress Keira Knightley. As luck would have it, he runs into her at the local Waitrose cheese counter, and romance blossoms.
Lesson: Great branding is great storytelling. The Waitrose ad weaves its brand into a fun, engaging tale. Your brand needs to tell a story or be part of a convincing story. Just saying “low rates” isn’t enough to make consumers into brand fanatics.
2. Chevrolet’s Emotional Road Trip
Chevrolet’s “Memory Lane” commercial tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings. It shows an older couple getting in the car to embark on a holiday road trip. As they drive, they recount all the good and bad family memories they had in their Chevrolet. The commercial ends with the couple meeting their adult children for Christmas.
Lesson: Never underestimate emotion. People never forget how you made them feel, so if you make them feel strongly enough, they’ll never forget you. And yes, financial services marketing can be emotional! First car, first house, personal loans funding an adoption, aid for college – the financial industry plays a part in these emotional events. Don’t miss the chance to market with them.
3. Coca-Cola’s Controversial AI Holiday
Traditionally, Coca-Cola is well-known for its polar bears, Santa and other popular holiday commercials. But not this year. The company generated this year’s holiday commercial entirely with AI, sparking controversy and backlash. The ad itself shows Coca-Cola trucks traveling to a town while a variety of animals watch and a jingle plays in the background.
Lesson: AI is great sometimes…and not so great other times. Use caution when deciding to use AI in your financial services marketing. You need to double check that quality is top-notch. You also must accurately read your market. A market that’s heavily anti-AI may reject your brand if you push generated content in their faces.
4. YETI’s Reverse Psychology Targeted Marketing
YETI clearly understands the niche it’s trying to reach this holiday season, urging viewers “Don’t Get Them a YETI (Unless You Really Love Them).” The commercial runs through a list of wild adventures YETI users have…and implicitly warns that the receiver of the YETI will rope you into them.
Lesson: YETI doesn’t feel the need to chase every target niche. You shouldn’t either. Targeting specific groups will grant you focus and help you resonate with those groups. (And as a bonus tip, find messaging that grabs people’s attention like YETI’s surprising holiday tagline does.)
5. Apple’s Quirky, Authentic Woodland Musical
Despite its recent AI focus, Apple delivers an authentic commercial using puppets and humor to market the iPhone 17. In the ad, a man drops his iPhone in the wilderness, and a group of woodland puppet creatures use it to film a song full of quirky humor.
Lesson: Authenticity counts. You’re selling to humans. Even though Apple’s products use AI, it knew its buyers weren’t robots. They were thinking, feeling people who enjoy funny musical videos.
Is your financial services marketing following some of the best practices mentioned in the lessons? Whether you’re in credit union marketing, bank marketing or marketing for other financial services, it helps to get an outside perspective. Get a marketing assessment to make sure you’re good to go in 2026. Book a free consultation today.
