Luxury Christmas Brand Activations 2024–2025
Every holiday season, luxury brands transform marketing into something bigger than promotion they create cultural moments. Christmas remains the most important emotional and commercial touchpoint of the year, and the world’s top luxury and premium brands are pushing boundaries with immersive pop-ups, celebrity-led campaigns, and creative storytelling.
Below, we break down some of the most impactful Christmas activations of the season and what they teach us about modern luxury marketing.
1. Gisou “Once Upon a Gisou Holiday Season” Pop-Up, London
In December 2024, Gisou unveiled a limited-time holiday pop-up in Covent Garden, designed as a crystal-adorned winter wonderland. Often referred to as the “Gisou igloo,” the structure was part boutique, part experience—an immersive world dedicated to the brand’s honey-infused universe.
What did the pop up offered?
Full product discovery: Including the Honey Infused Hair Oil and new lip oils
Exclusive holiday merchandise: Knit sweaters, tote bags, and seasonal items
Gamified experience: A “Crystal Hair Oil Wishing Well” offering the chance to win ultra-rare Crystal Edition bottles
Daily perks: The first 100 visitors received gift bags; complimentary gift wrapping with purchases
Gisou’s goals
To turn holiday shopping into a memorable destination, strengthen community loyalty, and reinforce the brand’s positioning as a sensorial, lifestyle-driven beauty house.
Marketing takeaways:
Pop-ups boost brand equity by combining retail with experience
Gamification increases engagement time and repeat visits
Limited editions fuel desirability and social buzz
2) Mariah Carey x Sephora “It’s Time!” Holiday Campaign
Sephora embraced pop culture with a festive 2025 campaign starring Mariah Carey, internationally known as the “Queen of Christmas.” The campaign cleverly taps into Mariah's annual viral moment announcing the start of the holiday season.
Inside the Campaign
Cinematic video co-starring Billy Eichner as a disgruntled elf
“It’s Time!” moment echoing Mariah’s iconic holiday meme
Curated beauty sets featuring Mariah’s favourite products
Aligned with Sephora’s “Give Something Beautiful” holiday strategy
Sephora’s goal
To capitalise on cultural momentum, spark conversation, boost eCommerce traffic, and anchor Sephora as the ultimate holiday gifting destination.
Marketing takeaways:
Celebrity-driven storytelling builds instant mass reach
Seasonal nostalgia + humour = viral potential
Controversy can sometimes amplify visibility when used carefully
Curated sets enhance conversion during gifting season
3. Charlotte Tilbury x Céline Dion “Star Confidence” Holiday Campaign
Charlotte Tilbury’s 2025 holiday campaign marks Céline Dion’s emotional return to the spotlight following her health diagnosis. This partnership blends glamour with meaning, positioning confidence as the ultimate holiday gift.
Campaign Highlights
Soundtrack: New remix of Céline’s hit I’m Alive
Setting: A celestial world called “Planet Star Confidence”
Cast: Céline Dion with Charlotte Tilbury, Jourdan Dunn, Quenlin Blackwell & Bella Tilbury
Hero products:
Star Confidence Eau de Parfum
Hollywood Instant Look Palette
Beauty Treasure Chest Advent Calendar
Pillow Talk Dreams Come True set
Limited-edition Big Lip Plumpgasm
Charlotte Tilbury’s goal:
To tie beauty with empowerment, celebrate personal strength, and elevate holiday gifting with collectible, celestial-themed packaging.
Marketing takeaways:
Emotional storytelling deepens consumer loyalty
Meaningful celebrity alignment enhances authenticity
Themed gifting universes elevate perceived value
A campaign with a message resonates stronger than one focused solely on product
4. Ralph Lauren The Holiday Village
Ralph Lauren’s Christmas activation is a strong example of how luxury brands can use experiential strategy to expand brand perception and influence consumer behaviour. Beyond showcasing apparel and accessories, Ralph Lauren intentionally integrates a universal, daily ritual coffee through Ralph’s Bar. This is a subtle but highly effective marketing move.
From a strategic point of view, the brand shifts the consumer relationship from seasonal shopping to everyday lifestyle relevance. Fashion purchases happen a few times a year, but coffee is a ritual people engage with daily. By integrating this ritual inside the retail environment, Ralph Lauren:
Creates a reason for more frequent store visits
Extends dwell time inside the brand universe
Makes the flagship a destination, not just a store
Encourages emotional attachment through comfort, familiarity, and routine
The Giving Tree element reinforces emotional resonance and philanthropy, linking luxury with purpose, an increasingly important driver for modern consumers. Combined with sophisticated décor, festive lights, and an immersive atmosphere, the activation turns the brand into a complete lifestyle experience that embodies the heritage of elegant, timeless living.
The key lesson for luxury marketing:
It’s no longer enough to display products beautifully. The brands winning today are those that anchor themselves in moments consumers live every day, rituals like coffee, hospitality, gifting, and community. Ralph Lauren’s strategy shows how turning a flagship into a multi-sensory, philanthropic, lifestyle-driven space strengthens brand equity and builds year-round loyalty.
5. Loewe, Taste the logo.Read the story.Feel the brand.
For the 2024 holiday season, Loewe launched a campaign rooted in artisanal craftsmanship and imaginative storytelling. Accessories were presented as giftable objects in whimsical, surreal settings, avoiding traditional festive clichés and turning the holiday season into a creative, emotional experience.
Instead of relying on traditional festive clichés like snow, red-and-gold decorations, or generic holiday motifs, Loewe crafted a dreamlike, whimsical universe where accessories, bags, scarves, and other iconic pieces were presented as objects of desire and giftable art. The visuals drew inspiration from hand-crafted techniques and surreal tableaux, including collaborations with Japanese ceramists, oversized floral elements, and magical, almost theatrical still-life setups.
The result: a holiday activation that felt distinctly Loewe, elevating products into emotional experiences rather than simple luxury items. By creating a universe of imagination and wonder, the brand positioned itself as both aspirational and playful, appealing to discerning consumers who value uniqueness and storytelling.
What does it teach us?
Craftsmanship & Storytelling Over Cliché: Focusing on art and imagination elevates the brand beyond fashion.
Products as Emotional Gifts: Storytelling transforms items into sentimental, must-have presents.
Differentiation Through Creative Risk: Bold, playful visuals increase recall in a crowded holiday market.
Luxury Meets Approachability: Creativity and whimsy engage younger, design-savvy audiences.
Brand Identity Reinforcement: Highlights Loewe as a trendsetter where creativity meets luxury craftsmanship.
Why is it important for marketing?
Emotion and narrative drive purchase decisions in luxury more than price or availability.
Holiday campaigns are opportunities to embed products within storytelling and imagination, making them memorable keepsakes rather than mere commodities.
Creative, artisan-driven campaigns resonate particularly well with affluent, younger audiences, who value originality, authenticity, and shareable content.
Seasonal campaigns can also reinforce long-term brand identity, not just generate short-term sales.
Loewe’s goal:
The ultimate aim of this campaign was to:
Strengthen brand desirability through emotional storytelling and artistry
Position accessories as luxury gifts with meaning, elevating consumer perception
Differentiate the brand in a crowded holiday marketplace through creative, risk-taking visuals
Engage a broader, younger demographic while staying true to the core luxury identity
TUDOR’s Holiday Strategy: How a Watch Becomes a Memory
What TUDOR Did ? The Activation in Brief
For the 2024 holiday season, TUDOR released a festive campaign titled “Get in the Holiday Spirit”, transforming its manufacture (Le Locle) into a “winter wonderland,” complete with seasonal visuals, holiday treats, and a cinematic video evoking a cosy, celebratory atmosphere.
The campaign featured a special selection of watches, including iconic models like the Black Bay (in steel and 18 k gold), targeted as holiday gifts.
The tone combines TUDOR’s heritage of precision watchmaking with warmth, festivity and storytelling, positioning the brand not just as a watchmaker, but as a companion for meaningful moments (holiday gatherings, gift‑giving, celebrations).
What This Teaches Us (Marketing Lessons)
Luxury meets emotion & tradition
TUDOR shows that even a heritage watch brand can successfully leverage the holiday season to evoke warmth, nostalgia, and emotional connection. Holiday spirit humanises craftsmanship.
Product as a meaningful gift, not just a luxury item
By packaging watches within a festive context, TUDOR transforms them into coveted holiday gifts rather than mere timepieces, increasing their emotional and perceived value.
Brand storytelling matters
The holiday “winter wonderland + video + festive messaging” ties product heritage with lifestyle and emotional resonance. This holistically strengthens brand identity.
Seasonal activations widen brand appeal
The festive tone softens the traditional “tool-watch / explorer” image, making TUDOR accessible and desirable to emotionally-driven gift buyers, not only watch enthusiasts.
Creating a cultural moment
A well-timed holiday campaign turns a purchase into a celebration. It isn’t just about watch sales: it’s about giving someone (or yourself) a memory, which is powerful marketing.
What the Goal Likely Was
TUDOR’s objectives this holiday season likely included:
Reinforcing the brand’s heritage + emotional depth, beyond technical excellence.
Driving holiday gift purchases by presenting watches as thoughtful, premium gifts.
Expanding appeal beyond core watch‑lover demographics to a broader audience looking for meaningful, luxury gifts.
Increasing brand visibility and engagement during a high-spending season by aligning with festive sentiment.
If you want to create creative brand activations that resonate with your audience, let us help you. Contact us today!
