The holiday season is basically the Super Bowl of marketing, every brand is fighting to come up the most innovative approach to attract attention to their brand, boost engagement, and increase sales. As December rolls in, fashion houses and beauty labels start pulling out their big ones, from immersive pop-ups and vintage-coded nostalgia shoots, to family-centered campaigns and full on city-stopping light shows. This year, a handful of brands are proving that holiday marketing can be more than just a glittery gift guide drop. Whether it’s a cozy, comfort driven advertisement or a major return to a beloved tradition, these are the 2025 holiday campaigns that you don’t want to miss.
Ralph Lauren Holiday Pop-Up Campaign in Chelsea, London
Ralph Lauren’s holiday pop-up in Chelsea feels like a physical version of the brand’s classic winter imagery. Warm lighting, familiar patterns, and that polished, understated luxury that they’ve always been known for. The space is curated almost like a holiday scene you’d stumble across in an old coffee-table book, featuring cozy textures, layered neutrals, and small details that make the environment feel very intentional. A Ralph Lauren Christmas is different from a classic Christmas. Beyond the product itself, the pop-up works because it creates a setting that reflects the world Ralph Lauren has spent years building within their campaigns. It’s a subtle approach to holiday marketing, allowing customers to step inside their campaign, which is especially effective. People love an experience that feels intentional, rather than performative, and Ralph Lauren has done a great job at creating that atmosphere.
This campaign also arrives alongside the quiet comeback of the Ralph Lauren quarter-zip, a familiar staple returning to winter styling and finding its way onto people’s holiday gift-lists, which reinforces the brand’s timeless appeal.
J. Crew Holiday Marketing Campaign
For those of you who are still holding onto that vintage, classic holiday vibe, the J.Crew holiday campaign is one you won’t want to miss. This year, J.Crew leans into a quieter, more traditional kind of holiday styling, the kind you would likely find pinned onto a board full of old family photos, knit sweaters, and muted tartans. Their visuals feel intentional, rather than flashy, with a primary focus on familiar winter textures and understated color palettes. It’s a campaign that doesn’t try to reinvent anything; instead, reminding you why certain holiday aesthetics have lasted as long as they have.
One of the standout images from the campaign emphasizes a scene that feels almost borrowed from another time, when winter meant retreating somewhere remote with the people you love, and settling into familiar routines. The visual carries a sense of tradition, the kind built around annual tree-cutting trips, long dinners with relatives you haven’t seen in a while, and the slower moments that makes the season feel meaningful. J.Crew leans into that nostalgia in a way that feels steady and comforting.
SKIMS Holiday 2025 Marketing Campaign
This year’s SKIMS Holiday Shop leans into a softer, more family-oriented approach, which is something that the brand doesn’t often play around with. The campaign features Lucky and Nara Smith, a pair that have quietly become two of the most recognizable faces on social media. Their presence in the campaign feels especially relevant right now, since they’ve recently settled in Connecticut (a detail that becomes surprisingly noticeable when you run into them at the Danbury Mall on an average weekend). Seeing them in a national holiday rollout adds a familiar touch to the campaign, especially for individuals who already follow Nara’s TikToks or know their content well.
The visuals focus on fleece and satin sets, cotton rib pajamas, and relaxed styling that fits both the brand’s identity and the couple’s everyday aesthetic.
Aritzia Holiday 2025 Marketing Campaign
Aritzia practically owns winter at this point. The Super Puff never really leaves, but becomes especially marketable once the holiday season hits, showing up across their storefronts and campaigns as a staple of December wardrobes. This year, though, the more unexpected addition is their new bag drop featuring artwork by Caitlyn Murphy.
The illustrations, often featuring a small fawn, have a soft, nostalgic quality, the kind of imagery you might associate with older holiday prints or the understated decor in a grandparent’s home. It gives Aritzia’s minimal aesthetic a seasonal touch without completely overwhelming it, creating a holiday moment that feels subtle, familiar, and thoughtfully placed within their winter lineup.
Saks Fifth Avenue Holiday Light Show
Saving the best for last, the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday light show is by far the most iconic form of brand activation for the holiday season. Mentioned in Natalie Orris’ NYC Christmas Trip Guide, this is definitely a display that should be on your bucket list this holiday season. The Saks Fifth Avenue holiday light show has become such a staple in New York’s holiday landscape, that its absence in 2024 drew almost as much attention as its return. This year’s display brings back the familiar choreography of lights and projects across the buildings’ facade, creating a moment that feels more like a tradition than an advertisement.
What makes the activation so effective is its consistency. People come back to the city to view the show not because they expect something radically new, but because the experience itself has become part of how they celebrate the holiday season. It’s a reminder that some of the most memorable holiday campaigns aren’t about reinventing anything, but about returning to something that people already feel connected to.
Closing Thoughts
While these aren’t the only marketing campaigns to emerge this holiday season, they are some of the most thoughtful, memorable, and innovative. Each campaign leaves its own mark in a way that feels intentional rather than overstated. Whether through tradition, atmosphere, or subtle storytelling, these campaigns show how powerful a well-crafted holiday moment can be, and even the importance of nostalgia.