Tag: xmas

Deutsche Telekom: Hologram Christmas Surprise

Deutsche Telekom stages a multi-city, multi-media Christmas surprise where people across five countries believe they are seeing Mariah Carey perform live, right in their city square.

The event is described as unfolding simultaneously in Germany, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Poland. After roughly 10 minutes, the hologram “breaks” into the sky to reveal the surprise, then reforms to lead the connected crowds through “Silent Night”, finishing with “All I Want for Christmas Is You”.

How the spectacle is engineered

Mechanically, each city is linked live to the others, enabling interaction across locations while the performance plays out on large-scale public screens. Attendees are also given a QR code that takes them to a smartphone experience featuring a candle flame, turning the crowd into a coordinated visual.

In European telecom brand marketing, making the network feel like a shared human experience is a reliable way to give an invisible service a visible emotional payoff.

Why it lands as more than “a stunt”

This works because the surprise is collective, not individual. People do not just watch content. They witness their city being connected to other cities in real time, and that connection is the product truth Deutsche Telekom wants remembered. Because the cities are live-linked, the audience experiences “connection” as something happening to them, which makes the brand promise feel credible. The real question is whether your experience lets people feel the benefit in the moment, not just understand it in hindsight. If your brand sells connectivity, a shared public ritual beats a standalone content drop.

Extractable takeaway: When the benefit is intangible, engineer a shared moment that makes the benefit felt, then let the crowd carry the story.

What the numbers are really doing

The piece is framed with scale metrics. Attendance is described as 12,000 people in total, with an additional 27,000 watching via a live internet stream on lifeisforsharing.tv. Treated as reported figures, the strategic point is clear: the “in person” crowd creates authenticity, and the stream extends reach without losing the feeling of simultaneity.

Stealable patterns for cross-market surprise

  • Build one shared ritual. A carol everyone recognises becomes the simplest multi-language participation layer.
  • Make the reveal part of the story arc. Belief, disruption, then a coordinated finale gives the audience a plot to retell.
  • Link physical and mobile. A QR-driven phone element can turn a crowd into a synchronised visual without complicated instruction.
  • Design for “togetherness at distance”. The emotional payoff comes from knowing other cities are experiencing the same moment at the same time.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the “Hologram Christmas Surprise” in one line?

A simultaneous, five-country public concert that uses a Mariah Carey hologram and live city-to-city links to create a shared Christmas moment at scale.

What is the core mechanism that makes it feel real?

Live-linked public screens across cities, plus on-stage interaction cues and crowd participation elements that play out in real time.

Why add the QR code candle experience?

It gives the crowd a simple coordinated action, visually reinforcing the “connected” theme and making the audience part of the show.

How do you keep it from feeling like a pure tech demo?

Lead with a shared ritual and a simple participation layer so the emotion reads first, and the technology disappears into the experience.

What is the most transferable lesson?

If your brand benefit is intangible, engineer a shared public moment that makes the benefit visible, then let people do the storytelling for you.

La Senza: The Cup Size Choir

In this holiday video from London ad agency Karmarama, Canada-based lingerie maker La Senza presents a novel Christmas choir. Women in their underwear lie on a puffy piano, each singing the musical note represented by their bra size, from A to G.

A Christmas choir built from cup sizes

The hook is immediate. A to G becomes a scale. The set becomes a keyboard. The cast becomes the instrument. It is a simple idea that explains itself in seconds, and it gives the viewer a reason to watch again just to catch how the “notes” are assigned.

How the mechanic sells the range

Instead of listing products, the film turns product variety into a performance system. Each cup size is framed as a distinct note, and the choreography is built around sequencing those notes into a familiar holiday tune.

In holiday retail marketing, the quickest way to earn attention is to turn the product range into entertainment people can instantly understand.

Why it lands as a share

The format is cheeky, high-contrast, and easy to summarize. That makes it naturally social, because people can describe it in one sentence and still do it justice. The “keyboard” visual also creates a clear pattern, so even casual viewers feel like they are in on the joke.

Extractable takeaway: When your product offer is breadth, not one hero feature, convert that breadth into a simple system the audience can see and repeat, and the message sticks without explanation.

The intent behind the wink

This is brand entertainment with a retail job to do. It keeps La Senza top-of-mind during a gifting season and spotlights that the brand serves a wide range of sizes, while the tone keeps it light enough to travel beyond existing customers.

The real question is whether the performance makes that size range memorable enough to travel beyond the existing customer base.

How to turn range into a shareable system

  • Make the organizing idea visible. A to G as notes is instantly legible.
  • Use a familiar frame. A holiday tune lowers comprehension cost.
  • Sell the range without “catalog copy”. Show variety as a system, not as a list.
  • Keep the runtime tight. Short spectacle beats long explanation for sharing.
  • Let the craft do the persuasion. Production, choreography, and rhythm carry the message.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the core idea of The Cup Size Choir?

Assign musical notes to bra cup sizes and build a performance that turns product range into a simple, watchable system.

Why does this work as holiday advertising?

It is easy to understand, easy to retell, and it uses a seasonal structure people already recognize, so the message lands quickly.

What is the main brand message?

That the brand offers a broad size range, communicated through entertainment rather than product claims.

What is the biggest risk with this kind of execution?

If the tone feels gratuitous or distracting, the audience remembers the stunt but forgets the brand or the point.

How can a different category copy the approach safely?

Translate “range” into a clear system. Use a familiar cultural frame. Keep the mechanic obvious, and let the craft carry the story.