The sleigh is overrated.
Santa Claus ditches it entirely in Expedia's touching Christmas campaign from 180LA, choosing instead to fly coach around the world and ending up at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, where he delivers presents to some very special kids.
As seen in the video below, Santa traveled 19,602 miles over seven days (49.7 hours of flight time), going from the North Pole via Anchorage through Honolulu, Tokyo, Dubai, Paris, Dublin, New York City, and finally to Memphis, where he hands out gifts—and also donates all the points he earned on flights to St. Jude, which is the selling point here.
"Santa flies around the world every year for children, so we loved the connection of giving him travel points to donate to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," says Vic Walia, senior director of brand marketing at Expedia.
"More people travel during the holidays than any other time of year. We hope this campaign will encourage people to donate their Expedia+ rewards points to St. Jude, considering how quickly they can add up during this busy travel season."
More at Expedia.com/Santa and the hashtag #SantaFliesCoach.
CREDITS
Client: Expedia
Spot: "Santa Flies Coach"
Senior Director, Brand Marketing: Vic Walia
Brand Marketing Manager: Jessica Eichner
Media Director: Elizabeth Dorrance
Agency: 180LA
Chief Creative Officer: William Gelner
Creative Directors: Dave Horton, Matthew Woodhams-Roberts
Art Director: Chelsea Cumings
Copywriter: Trey Tyler
Head of Production: Natasha Wellesley
Executive Producer: Erin Goodsell
Producer: Amber Schaefer
Head of Account Management: Chad Bettor
Account Director: Brooke Stites
Account Manager: Mackenzie Walen
Account Coordinator: Chase Pritchett
Production Company: Ghost Robot
Directors: Dave Horton, Nick Bentgen
Director of Photography: Nick Bentgen
Executive Producers: Mark DePace, Zach Mortensen
Editorial Company: Melvin
Editor: Dave Groseclose
Producer: Brian Scharwath
Company: Therapy Studios
Executive Producer: Joe DiSanto, John Ramsay
Senior Producer: Allegra Bartlett
Flame Artist: Wren Waters
Flame Assist: Geoff Stephenson
Sound
Recording Studio: Eleven Sound
Mixer: Ben Freer
Original Music by human