Old Navy wishes everyone a “Happy All-idays” in
its latest round of inclusive holiday ads starring Keke Palmer and created in partnership with The Martin Agency.
Palmer told E! News that she partnered with Old Navy because "it's a very
American brand in all the ways that I feel like I represent." She added that, “This year is no different when it comes to the holidays. We're celebrating all people in all traditions."
The campaign is designed to be inclusive on a number of levels, from the Hanukkah prints on pajamas seen in the ads to women in charge of the ad shoot. "This is a big deal," Palmer told Looper. "To
see women in these positions, it's definitely representative of the evolution that is happening, and we're continuing to try to grow forward as a society."
Palmer, who came to prominence with
her starring role in 2006’s “Akeelah and the Bee,” has since starred in “Hustlers” with Jennifer Lopez and Scream: The TV Series.
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The “Happy
All-idays” slogan is meant to celebrate inclusion. And that includes encouraging people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to consider playing the role of “Santa” as part of
spreading holiday joy.
The chain even has a Santa Bootcamp and related training materials to help all those interested in prepping for the role.
The company notes “less than five
percent of all professional Santas in the U.S. identify as people of color,” while almost half of the children under 15 identify as non-white. The brand’s training course this year
encourages participation from people with a broad array of backgrounds, ethnicities and cultural heritages “to offer more representation in the role of Santa.”
The Bootcamp
this year teaches Santas-in-training how to respond in both sign language and Spanish. In addition, Dion Sinclair, known as “The Real Black Santa,” and Bob Torres, a bilingual Santa, will
help lead instruction.