This heartwarming Christmas ad will have you reaching for the tissues
WestJet is hoping to lift the spirits of a Canadian town that's had a rough year in its latest Christmas marketing stunt.
The Canadian airline -- famed for its holiday gift-giving ploys since the breakout viral success of a 2013 ad -- decided the Alberta community of Fort McMurray could use some love this year after a wildfire destroyed 2,400 homes there in May.
A commercial released this week details how the company gathered the town's residents for a giant Christmas party, then made sly use of a photo booth to create personalized ornaments containing portraits of each of the families.
The airline then surprised the revelers by raining down the customized gifts from above with tiny parachutes, along with vouchers for free flights.
The looks of joy and excitement on the faces of unsuspecting residents make for the highlight of the nearly four-minute video.
The ad marks the fifth installment of WestJet's Christmas Miracle campaign. The company first made a splash with holiday surprises by purchasing all of the passengers on a flight their dream gifts in 2013.
As is now custom, the company also released an accompanying behind-the-scenes video explaining how the complicated effort came together.
Topics Advertising
Patrick Kulp is a Business Reporter at Mashable. Patrick covers digital advertising, online retail and the future of work. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a degree in political science and economics, he previously worked at the Pacific Coast Business Times.
