Only Christ-mas feels like this.
Christmas storytelling as a campaign system
Christmas storytelling as a campaign system
SERVICES
SERVICES
Creative Direction, Campaign Development
Creative Direction, Campaign Development
CLIENT
CLIENT
ALDI NORD AND SÜD
ALDI NORD AND SÜD
Agency
Agency
antoni_99
antoni_99
CREATIVE TEAM
CREATIVE TEAM
MAnuel Urbanke, Fabian Rößler, Kirsten Frenz, Manuel Scheuble, Merle schenker
MAnuel Urbanke, Fabian Rößler, Kirsten Frenz, Manuel Scheuble, Merle schenker
DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR
VERÓNica von hünefeld
VERÓNica von hünefeld
Photographer
Photographer
Janine Sametzky
Janine Sametzky
Year
Year
2023
2023
PRODUCTION CREDITS +
The campaign focused on a familiar Christmas behavior: adults becoming children again. Excitement, rituals, anticipation, small moments that usually disappear during the rest of the year. “Only Christmas feels like this.” translated that feeling into a campaign system across film, outdoor, AR, and digital for ALDI SÜD.
The campaign focused on a familiar Christmas behavior: adults becoming children again. Excitement, rituals, anticipation, small moments that usually disappear during the rest of the year. “Only Christmas feels like this.” translated that feeling into a campaign system across film, outdoor, AR, and digital for ALDI SÜD.
Challenge
Challenge
Christmas advertising often becomes loud, overloaded, or emotionally generic. The challenge was to create a campaign that felt warm and recognizable without relying on typical holiday clichés or exaggerated storytelling.
Christmas advertising often becomes loud, overloaded, or emotionally generic. The challenge was to create a campaign that felt warm and recognizable without relying on typical holiday clichés or exaggerated storytelling.
Approach
Approach
The TVC focused on small everyday moments rather than a single big narrative: adults checking their boots on St. Nicholas Day, looking excitedly through the oven window while baking, licking the spoon in the kitchen, or getting overly excited after grocery shopping.
The tone stayed playful and slightly exaggerated, but grounded in recognizable behavior. No children were needed. The adults carried the emotion themselves.
For ALDI SÜD, one scene became the starting point for the AR extension: a grandfather riding a shopping cart through a snowy parking lot. The silhouette was transformed into a familiar Christmas image moving across the night sky, echoing the feeling of Santa Claus and his sleigh, except the sleigh was now a shopping cart. QR codes placed on outdoor posters opened an interactive star map with constellations shaped like ALDI-related objects, extending the campaign into public space while staying connected to the original film idea.
The TVC focused on small everyday moments rather than a single big narrative: adults checking their boots on St. Nicholas Day, looking excitedly through the oven window while baking, licking the spoon in the kitchen, or getting overly excited after grocery shopping.
The tone stayed playful and slightly exaggerated, but grounded in recognizable behavior. No children were needed. The adults carried the emotion themselves.
For ALDI SÜD, one scene became the starting point for the AR extension: a grandfather riding a shopping cart through a snowy parking lot. The silhouette was transformed into a familiar Christmas image moving across the night sky, echoing the feeling of Santa Claus and his sleigh, except the sleigh was now a shopping cart. QR codes placed on outdoor posters opened an interactive star map with constellations shaped like ALDI-related objects, extending the campaign into public space while staying connected to the original film idea.
ILLUSTRATION
ILLUSTRATION
Together with illustrator Matt Joyce, we developed a handcrafted Christmas world built around imperfect shapes, textures, and playful details. The illustrations extended across packaging, outdoor, digital, and AR applications, helping the campaign feel cohesive across every touchpoint.
Together with illustrator Matt Joyce, we developed a handcrafted Christmas world built around imperfect shapes, textures, and playful details. The illustrations extended across packaging, outdoor, digital, and AR applications, helping the campaign feel cohesive across every touchpoint.
My Role
My Role
Creative lead across the full project, including campaign concept, visual language, illustration direction, AR production, and rollout across film, outdoor, and digital channels. Collaboration with antoni and external production partners from concept through execution.
Creative lead across the full project, including campaign concept, visual language, illustration direction, AR production, and rollout across film, outdoor, and digital channels. Collaboration with antoni and external production partners from concept through execution.
Impact
Impact
The campaign became Germany’s first mixed reality Christmas activation for a retail brand at this scale. The work generated strong interaction through QR-based participation and social sharing, contributing to a Christmas campaign that increased market share by 7% and became Germany’s #2 most loved advertising campaign.
The campaign became Germany’s first mixed reality Christmas activation for a retail brand at this scale. The work generated strong interaction through QR-based participation and social sharing, contributing to a Christmas campaign that increased market share by 7% and became Germany’s #2 most loved advertising campaign.
