Who won the battle of the Holiday Ads: Amazon or Starbucks?

One is bathed in the warm light of the season, the other reads more dystopian.

It’s the holidays and that means time for ad campaigns full of snow, jingling bells, and good cheer. Seasonality is something every advertiser taps into and for good reason. It makes their brand relevant to what’s happening now.

Even brands like Corona beer, whose entire positioning is wrapped up in a vision of warm Mexican beaches leverage holiday imagery.

So it’s not terribly surprising that two multi-billion dollar companies like Starbucks and Amazon have released seasonal campaigns recently. Both seeking to tap into that seasonal sentiment and align themselves with holiday cheer. To look at the two side-by-side is to study how, and how not to approach seasonal advertising.

Amazon — Can you feel it?