Every December, the world is flooded with festive lights, jingles, gift ideas, décor trends and moving adverts invoking nostalgia, joy, family scenes and giving. What we’re witnessing is the culmination of what some call Christmas marketing: the concerted effort by brands and advertisers to align holiday emotions with consumption, making the festive season both a cultural ritual and a commercial event. But beyond products and sales, this kind of marketing shapes how we feel, behave, expect and remember the holidays.
In this article you’ll learn: what Christmas marketing is, why emotions matter so much during the season, how advertising leverages emotional triggers and sensory cues, the impact on consumer behaviour and culture, and how you can navigate the holiday marketing landscape with awareness and intention.
What is Christmas Marketing?
At its simplest, Christmas marketing refers to the accumulated advertising, retail strategies, promotional campaigns and seasonal messaging geared toward the Christmas/holiday period. It includes product campaigns promising the perfect gift, bricolage of décor and ambiance, sales events tied to the season, and brand stories built around holiday themes of giving, family, nostalgia and joy.
But it is more than just “advertise more in December”. It is emotional marketing aligned to the season — it uses the unique cultural, emotional and temporal context of Christmas. In many markets, it also plays a major economic role: retailers and brands count on the holiday quarter as a disproportionate share of annual volume. Therefore Christmas marketing isn’t just extra—it often drives the whole strategy for the year’s final months.
Why Emotions Become Powerful in Holiday Advertising
Emotional resonance is higher
Research shows that holiday ads evoke exceptionally strong emotions. One study found that festive campaigns are twice as likely to make viewers cry, significantly more likely to make them smile or feel nostalgic than standard advertising.
The brain is primed for emotion
In the holiday season, many consumers are in a heightened emotional state—anticipation, family recollections, end-of-year reflection, sometimes stress. Advertisers tap into this “emotional window”. Because when people are more emotionally open, they’re also more responsive to emotional appeals: the brain associates feelings with the brand, and purchase behaviour becomes more based on emotion than on pure reason.
Emotional advertising drives brand outcomes
Campaigns built around emotion (rather than straightforward rational product selling) tend to perform better for long-term brand building. One report found emotional ads increased pricing power by 40% and were 27% more likely to go viral. Marketing Week
Thus holiday advertising doesn’t just sell a gift—it sells a feeling, a story, a memory. And that is the core of how emotions become powerful tools.
The Techniques Advertisers Use to Shape Holiday Feelings
Nostalgia and Storytelling
One dominant technique: storytelling that evokes nostalgia — childhood memories, family gatherings, homecomings. Advertisements tell mini-stories: a child waiting for Santa, a family reunited, a pet who brings surprise. The story taps deeper feelings of belonging, tradition, identity. For example, one academic study described how UK Christmas ads used character-driven stories to conjure “child-like innocence” and strong emotional responses.
The reason: nostalgia is a powerful emotional connector—it grounds the present in memory, often positive. When brands tie their product to that, the consumer experiences more than a gift—they experience connection.
Sensory Branding and Atmosphere
Beyond visuals and story, holiday marketing uses sensory cues: lighting, music, scents, ambience. Research shows sensory marketing—appealing to multiple senses—strengthens emotional connection to brands.
For example, playing Christmas music in stores, decorating with warm lights and pine scent, or using colour palettes associated with holiday (reds, golds, greens) help create a festive mood that makes shopping or engagement feel special. The psychological effect: the consumer doesn’t just see an ad—they feel the holiday context and that becomes part of the brand association.
Timing, “Christmas Creep” and Early-Trigger Marketing
The earlier you are exposed to holiday cues, the longer the emotional window. Many retailers begin festive marketing before December, sometimes as early as October or November—an effect known as Christmas creep.
Because the emotional state builds over longer time, the brand has more chance to insert itself into your psyche: you’re primed, the holidays are on your mind, and when you see the brand’s holiday campaign, you’re more receptive. It magnifies impact.
Emotional Campaigns and Brand Building
Holiday campaigns often aim beyond immediate sales to brand building—evoking association, loyalty, sharing. Emotional campaigns are memorable, shared across social media, and amplify brand narrative. For example, research shows ads with emotion are far likelier to be shared and to generate organic impressions.
Brands increasingly approach Christmas marketing not as seasonal “push” but as part of brand identity: “Christmas is who we are” kind of framing. The effect: every holiday ad becomes part of the long-term story, not just a temporary sale.
Impact on Consumer Behaviour and Holiday Culture
Shopping Behaviour and Spending Patterns
Because holiday advertising triggers emotions, it influences why and when people buy. Studies show during the holidays emotional drivers (joy, memory, belonging) overtake purely rational drivers.
Also, retailers’ tactics (ads, decorations, sensory triggers, early deals) mean consumers begin earlier, buy more, and often feel justified because the emotional framing suggests “this is the time”. The result: spending spikes, gift lists expand, and the holiday becomes a major consumption period rather than just a tradition.
Social Norms, Expectations and Holiday Rituals
When marketing emphasises a “magical Christmas”, perfect family scenes, ideal gifts and elaborate décor, it raises social expectations. Many people internalise that their holiday should match what they see in ads or on social media. The trouble: real life rarely is as spectacular as polished ad imagery.
These elevated expectations can lead to stress, disappointment, comparison anxiety, or overspending. Advertising thus shapes not only what we buy, but how we believe we should experience the holiday.
Brand Loyalty, Sacrifice and Emotional Associations
When a brand succeeds in linking itself to holiday emotion, it gains more than seasonal sales—it builds loyalty. Because feelings of warmth, tradition and family become connected to the brand, when people recall a holiday memory they may also recall the brand. Research indicates that positive emotional responses to Christmas ads lead to more favourable attitudes toward brands.
In this sense, Christmas marketing is less about the immediate purchase and more about building long-term emotional brand equity.
The Potential Costs and Critiques of This Marketing Phenomenon
While the phenomenon is powerful, it also has drawbacks worth considering.
Over-commercialisation and Lost Meaning
Some observers argue that Christmas marketing has transformed what was once a cultural or religious observance into a consumer event dominated by brand narratives and spending. Advertising pushes the message that these gifts, this season, this brand equals happiness. The risk: the original meaning of holiday (presence, family, reflection) is overshadowed by consumption.
Emotional Pressure and Comparison
As ads raise expectations, individuals may feel pressure to live up to them. The emotional ideal becomes a benchmark: perfect décor, perfect family, perfect gift. When reality falls short, people may feel inadequate, stressed or let down—effects often documented in holiday wellness research. The layering of holiday marketing and social media images amplifies this effect.
Impulse Buying, Debt and Consumption Traps
The emotional triggers and sensory marketing techniques used during the holidays also promote impulse buying. Because emotions override rational processing, consumers may purchase things they hadn’t planned, accumulate debt, or buy gifts for the sake of fulfilling the marketed holiday story rather than personal meaning. Studies of seasonal consumer behaviour support this risk.
Cultural Homogenisation
When brands and media drive a globalised “holiday look and feel”, local traditions and diversity may be diluted. The festive imagery becomes standardised, leaving less space for alternative narratives or non-consumer-centric holiday practices.
Ways to Engage Intentionally with Holiday Advertising (as a Consumer)
You don’t have to be powerless in the face of holiday marketing. Here are ways to engage intentionally and retain control.
✅ Recognise what you’re being sold
When you see a moving Christmas ad, ask: What feeling is this brand tapping? What story is it telling? What purchase does it imply? Recognising the marketing frame gives you back choice.
✅ Separate meaningful celebration from brand imagery
You might enjoy a beautifully produced ad and its emotions—yet you can choose to mirror them on your own terms, not chase them. Personal meaning may not require big spend or perfect décor.
✅ Set your budget and priorities early
Because holiday marketing triggers earlier and harder now, decide what matters to you before you feel pressured. Is it time with family? A special meal? A modest gift? Let your values lead—not just the commercials.
✅ Be selective in exposure
You don’t have to avoid all holiday ads, but if they trigger stress or comparison, reduce your exposure: opt out of early sale emails, limit scrolling past décor images, unsubscribe from brand hype. Use ads as inspiration, not benchmarks.
✅ Create your own story
Rather than following the brand narrative (perfect tree, perfect gifts, perfect family), craft your own. Maybe your version of Christmas celebrates simpler gifts, meaningful experiences, or traditions not based on spending. Your narrative matters.
✅ Mind the emotional triggers
Holiday ads rely on emotions like nostalgia, togetherness, giving. These are valid and good—but they don’t always equal spending. You can still tap into these emotions in non-commercial ways: volunteering, memory-sharing with loved ones, simple gatherings.
Conclusion
The flood of festive advertisements each year is more than friendly cheer—it’s a well-oiled marketing phenomenon that shapes how we feel about Christmas, how we behave, what we expect and how we remember. Through emotional storytelling, sensory cues, timing strategies and brand-driven narrative, advertisers tap into the deepest holiday sentiments and steer them toward consumption.
That influence can enrich the holiday experience—evoking warm memories, creating new traditions, sparking joy—but it also carries risks: inflated expectations, financial strain, emotional pressure and the overshadowing of non-commercial values. The good news: by becoming aware of how Christmas marketing works, you can engage with it consciously—take what helps you feel, skip what pressures you, and shape your own holiday.
This December, when you watch a festive ad or browse holiday décor, remember: you’re not just in the audience—you are the interpreter. The ads suggest a story, but you decide how that story intersects with your life, your values and your celebrations.
Cheers to a holiday season where emotion meets intention—where you feel the joy, not the pressure. 🎁✨
Sources
- Cartwright, J., McCormick, H., Warnaby, G. (2016). Consumers’ emotional responses to the Christmas TV advertising of four retail brands. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 29: 82-91.
- “Leveraging Emotional Triggers in Holiday Advertising.” ExplorerResearch, 2023.
- “Emotional advertising boosts brands’ pricing power by 40%.” Marketing Week, 2024.
- “The Marketing Psychology of Christmas.” E-Commerce Circle, 2024.
- “How Consumer Behavior Changes During the Holiday Season.” Madison Taylor Marketing, 2023.
- “Holiday Season Shopping Trends: Insights Into Consumer Behaviour.” BW Marketing World, 2024.
- “The Marketing of Holidays: How Consumption Has Transformed Traditions.” BBS UniBo, 2017.
