What the Holidays are (also) About.

Jordana here, LCI’s Assistant Account Executive. The holiday season is a time to give thanks for what we have and to give back to those who have not. During this time of year, we see a great number of spirited holiday campaigns in both the PR and advertising spheres, aiming to promote this very idea.

There was a time when I would have been appalled to see a holiday ad on TV the day after Halloween. Those were my pre-PR days. In the world of public relations, we are already knee deep in holiday strategy by mid-July, so it’s only natural that we now expect the overnight décor changes in malls across the nation on November 1^st.

This time of year is typically the height of ad spending for major corporate brands, which leaves the average shopper feeling bombarded by in-your-face consumer-luring ad tactics: a snow-blanketed house and crackling fire act as the backdrop to a scene where a beautiful woman receives diamond earrings from her wool-sweatered husband, or the key to her new Lexus, parked in the driveway and topped with an inconceivably large bow. They capture our hearts (and wallets) with shots of kids in scarves and expertly decorated holiday table-settings only Martha Stewart could create.

So, how do we top these attention-grabbing tactics with public relations? We don’t. Our goal is not to further overwhelm the already overwhelmed. Our strategy is to remind consumers that the holidays aren’t just about giving the latest and greatest. They’re also about supporting great causes and finding creative ways to shop smart while also giving back. Here are some creative and worthy-cause campaigns for the 2011 holiday season:

• From October 1^st through December 31^st this year, LCI-client Lotus Bakeries, makers of world-famous Biscoff Cookies, will donate 10% sales from its festive new holiday product, Biscoff Holiday Cookie Totes, to nonprofit Teach For America, an organization that works to improve the education of at-risk schools. (Totes are priced at $16.95 for a set of three).
• Coca-Cola is supporting its long-time mascot, the arctic polar bear, with its new white can this holiday season. Sales of this special-edition can help support the World Wildlife Fund and endangered polar bears.
• LCI client, the California Academy of Sciences, a non-profit world-class museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, offers holiday shoppers nationwide a chance to explore the world of science with their new “Budding Scientist Kit.” Complete with a 25-piece microscope set and a copy of Oh Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty, by Joy Masoff. Sales on the $79 kit go to support the Academy’s leading global scientific research and exploration.

What’s your favorite 2011 holiday campaign? Email me at [email protected].