Ads of the Week: Creators, carols and Christmas oddities

Why it works:

Brach's and Rethink build a campaign around a truth: people don’t hang candy canes so much as raid them. The film follows a dad and his kids sneaking canes off the tree with the stealth of petty holiday criminals, giving the brand a light mischievous tone. It’s a relatable setup for anyone who has tried to keep treats on display past December 10.

Brach's and Rethink created The Cane Opener, an actual device engineered to crack open a wrapper in one clean motion. It solves a holiday struggle everyone knows but never talks about, and it gives the brand something playful to sell at TheCaneOpener.com. For a seasonal product that’s a smart way to extend the idea beyond the ad itself.

The campaign runs across social, OTT and OLV with support from H5 and iProspect. “Everyone loves the look of candy canes on the tree but Brach's are so good they never make it to Christmas morning,” says Matt Escalante, VP of Brach's and Seasonal. Paired with Tara Lawall’s observation that you can’t eat Christmas lights but you can eat the decorations that matter, the work sets up a refreshed holiday platform for the brand’s broader partnership with Rethink.

Patreon drops a holiday threat from “Santa hates Patreon”

A creator-made short starring Stavros Halkias turns Santa into a mob boss furious about gift-givers choosing memberships over merchandise.

Why it works:

Patreon hands the entire holiday brief to creators and lets them build something only the internet could love. Stavros “Stavvy” Halkias plays Santa as a stressed-out kingpin watching his empire wobble as people swap physical gifts for Patreon memberships. Directed with Daniel Thrasher, the film has the scruffy improv energy you get when creators write and shape the work themselves.

After a season of nonstop promotional emails and inbox overload, many are tired of buying more stuff that won’t last. Patreon treats memberships as gifts with staying power and uses Santa’s meltdown to underline why people are looking for something different.

Mike McGarry, SVP of marketing at Patreon, says the company wanted a holiday message that reflects the people behind the platform. “We’d rather put the spotlight on creators. They make ideas AI can’t touch, original, weird, deeply human.” The campaign delivers a film that feels handmade and intentionally odd, the kind of work that comes directly from the community Patreon supports.

Spotify Wrapped hits TV with a star-packed UK spotlight

 A cast of major artists, creators and cultural characters anchors Wrapped’s first-ever UK ad.

Why it works:

Spotify’s first UK TV ad for Wrapped drops the audience into a year shaped by artists, creators and internet personalities. Directed by KC Locke, the spot gathers Central Cee, PinkPantheress, Lewis Capaldi, Nemzzz, Kingfishr and Sasha Keable, alongside cameos from familiar cultural figures such as Louis Theroux. The mix gives the film the energy of a crowded night out where everyone somehow belongs in the same room.

The ad takes over an entire commercial break of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! on December 3 and surfaces again on ITVX, making Wrapped unavoidable during one of the country’s busiest viewing windows.

Physical installations give the campaign another layer. London and Manchester host pop-ups tied to standout artists, from Jade stepping into a perspex box on Southbank to a tartan-wrapped phone booth near Tower Bridge and a mural honoring Oasis. Wrapped Party extends the idea by turning listening stats into a social game. The design system pulls from 80s and 90s DIY audio culture, giving the whole rollout a handmade, slightly unruly feel.

Deutsche Telekom reunites the Stranger Things cast for a homemade streaming machine

A rebuilt Hawkins basement, a functioning prop and a stack of VHS classics anchor MagentaTV’s new campaign.

Why it works:

Deutsche Telekom brings the four original Stranger Things boys back together for MagentaTV, placing them inside a meticulous recreation of Mike’s basement. Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin try to engineer a device that can deliver “infinite hours” of 80s movie fight scenes. The premise gives the spot room to turn on the nostalgia without repeating the show’s plots.

Production details carry the weight here. Original set designer Sean Brennan and cinematographer Lachlan Milne helped rebuild the look, and the machine in the center of the room was constructed as a working prop. The shelves feature hundreds of handmade VHS titles alongside licensed classics like E.T., Back to the Future, Alien, Commando and The Empire Strikes Back. Everything on screen feels touched by human hands.

Soundtracked by Billy Squier’s ‘Lonely is the night’, the campaign runs across TV, video-on-demand, radio, outdoor and social. It positions MagentaTV as the place where all worlds and formats sit together, even if the boys still need a basement gadget to make sense of it.

Aldi closes its Christmas saga with Kevin and Katie’s long-awaited wedding

 The carrot couple’s final chapter lands with drama, musical flair and a full campaign push.

Why it works:

Aldi brings its decade-long Christmas universe to a finale by giving Kevin and Katie the Carrot the wedding fans have followed for years. The spot from McCann Manchester opens with best man Kelvin racing to save the day, only for a new hitch to surface just as the ceremony begins. The setup gives the film the rhythm of a holiday special where everything hangs by a thread until the characters pull it back together.

The aisle scene delivers the franchise’s familiar charm. Carrot kids, the bridal party and the Cauli Dog all settle in before another curveball throws Katie off balance. Kevin answers with a musical moment that steadies the story and lands the emotional beat the trilogy has been building toward. It’s tidy, self-aware and pitched to viewers who treat the annual carrot film like a seasonal ritual.

Aldi supports the spot with a wide rollout across social, print, radio and digital. Competitions, short-form content and an ITV partnership hosted by Scarlett Moffatt keep the storyline moving beyond the ad itself. It’s a sendoff that treats the carrot universe as established lore and gives the series a clear final bow.

Clash Royale drops a nine-minute fever dream of a film

Seven studios, zero AI and one hyperactive brawl to launch the game’s new Heroes.

Why it works:

Clash Royale finally gave its players what they’ve been asking for – a full-blown film – and answered with a nine-minute crossover that feels like every corner of the internet smashed into one reel. Uncommon Stockholm handed each scene to a different production partner, so the story doesn’t just move forward, it mutates. One minute you’re in heavy-metal stop motion, the next you’ve fallen into 80s dark fantasy or a 90s toy-commercial sugar rush. The chaos mirrors how fans experience the game: fast, weird and impossible to predict.

The production setup is the flex. Seven studios worked independently with only loose transitions, character lists and starting points. No AI stitching, no shortcuts. “This is a celebration of craft. No AI has been used, just creative minds collaborating under one very simple premise,” says Max Hultberg, executive creative director at Uncommon Stockholm. The result feels like a relay where every handoff makes the story stranger and sharper, landing a continuous fight scene that introduces four new Heroes and reminds players the game still has creative muscle to spare.

Publicis marks its centennial with an Edith Piaf–narrated century saga

A live-action and AI hybrid traces the holding company’s 100-year climb from wartime loss to global influence.

Why it works:

Publicis uses this year’s Wishes film to mark its approaching centennial with a story that spans nearly a century. The nine-minute piece opens in World War II, follows the company’s lion mascot through eras of growth and disruption, and brings in Edith Piaf’s narration to anchor the mood. It feels more like a short historical drama than a holiday message, which gives it presence.

The production draws on live action, actors and AI to revisit the company’s defining moments, including the wartime seizure of Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet’s businesses and the long rebuild that followed. Scenes tied to clients such as Shell, Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oréal and Renault show how its footprint expanded over time. The pacing gives space to the company’s shifts and recoveries.

Arthur Sadoun describes the project as an odyssey that reflects the company’s endurance. “A lion never gives up,” he says. The film frames Publicis’s first 100 years as a series of rebuilds and reinventions and places its people at the center of whatever the next century and the rise of AI bring.