• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 24, 2023

Kids standing face-to-face with a store Santa are usually armed with a long list of requests. Macy’s turns the tables in this year’s holiday spot, which stars a little charmer with a different plan.

The BBDO-created ad plays on Macy’s vast Santa Claus credentials while bolstering the “something for everyone” atmosphere the store hopes can shore up flagging sales.

Macy’s, founded in 1858, has more or less owned the “Believe” concept since the great “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” letter of 1897. And its Santa-centricity has been cemented in culture, from movies like “Miracle on 34^th Street” to comedy like David Sedaris’ classic essay “SantaLand Diaries.”

All that means finding anything new to say about Christmas at Macy’s is nearly impossible. “Part of the fun is misdirection,” says Matthew Low, senior vice president and creative director at BBDO. “It’s unclear who the kid is shopping for,” he says, as the camera follows the child as he spritzes cologne, tests out frying pans and shields his eyes from Toys R Us to ensure he doesn’t get pulled off his mission.

“We wanted to focus on the child’s perspective, not the adult’s,” says Kristin Clark, senior vice president and creative director at BBDO. “The way he interacts with the store is full of innocence and a great way to show a selfless act. It’s different from a parent picking out a gift or a kid shopping for himself like he's on a mission. And it’s got that pure holiday joy behind it.”

The ad is breaking a bit on the early side, says Adam Beilman, vice president and account director. “We started with a brief to develop a 15-second ad, which expanded to 30 seconds. Then, because of the magnetism of the story, it grew to 60 seconds.”

That ended up moving the launch date earlier, he tells Marketing Daily. The 60-second spot is scheduled to run in cinemas and during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, with the 30-second version already airing, expected to continue until just before Christmas.

The campaign also includes digital, social, and print advertising. 

While Macy’s may own plenty of Santa mindshare, the company continues to lose market share. Department stores have lost sales for years as American consumers increasingly rely on ecommerce and money-saving formats.

A recent Deutsche Bank report by analyst Gabriella Carbone notes that in the last five years, Macy’s lost more market share than any other retailer, with Kohl’s and Nordstrom close behind. And on the whole, department stores gave up more ground than any other retail sector. (Off-price, discounters and fast fashion are the big gainers.)

So the new spot plays up one of Macy’s biggest strengths, with the boy’s wandering showing a wide variety of merchandise. “That was almost a happy coincidence,” Beilman says. Throughout the more extensive campaign, “there’ll be different touch points that focus on each department and category, targeting different styles.”

And of course, “it ends with the real Santa,” Beilman says, the same OG St. Nick who’s appeared in Macy’s parades for more than 20 years. “He’s committed. Even on set, he didn’t break character.”

“Our challenge here was to capture the emotional high ground of the holidays and have everyone feeling good about Macy's,” Low says. “This spot is inherently Macy's. Our competitors couldn’t have done this.”