# Un-Christmas Commercials Kmart's 'Not a Christmas Commercial' Celebrates a Merry Birthday Instead By Laura McQuarrie | Published 2014-09-10 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/christmas-commercial References: [adsoftheworld](http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/kmart_not_a_christmas_commercial) & [kmart](http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/sbh_10151_10104_layaway?sid=ISmx22800224x000385) It's pretty normal to expect holiday trees, chocolate ad Christmas commercials to start appearing right after Halloween, but this year, Kmart is really getting a jump on the holiday season. Just days into September, Kmart released its 'Not a [Christmas Commercial](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reinfell-ad)' ad, which suggests thinking about starting your [holiday shopping](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/amazon-holiday-campaign) right now. The video stresses that it's not one for Christmas, and instead wants you to think of preparing for a big Merry Birthday event, where everybody has their birthday on the same day and requires gifts. The commercial suggests Kmart Layaway for such an event and even though this is touted as not being a Christmas commercial, all of the elves, [Christmas trees and cakes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kfc-thailands-birthday-ad) decorated with poinsettias make it pretty clear that the holiday season is right around the corner. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 4.9/10 - Popularity: 53% | Activity: 87% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 30% men, 70% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Commercials](https://www.trendhunter.com/commercials) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Early Holiday Season Marketing:** Innovative marketing strategies promoting holiday season beyond the usual timeline - **Alternative Holiday Celebration:** Encouraging consumers to consider celebrating holidays in an alternative non-traditional manner - **Birthday-based Celebration:** Promoting celebrations and gift-giving based on consumers' birthdates ### Where This Applies - **Retail:** Retail companies promoting an early start to holiday shopping season in creative ways - **Hospitality:** Hotels/resorts offering packages for alternative holiday celebrations and events - **Social Media:** Social media marketing agencies launching birthday-based campaigns and promotions ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Peaceful Holiday Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/take-a-holiday-from-the-holidays.md) - [Lengthy Halloween-Inspired Events](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/100-days-to-halloween.md) - [Festive Online-Only Retailer Events](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kroger-12-merry-days-of-deals.md) - [Boldly Humorous Holiday Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/its-not-the-thought-that-counts.md) - [Festive Value-Minded Retail Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/big-deal-of-christmas-campaign.md) - [Holiday Retail Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/whoknewville.md) - [Gifting-Ready Chocolate Products](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/2023-christmas-collection.md) - [Christmasy Customer-Rewarding Retailer Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/one-stop-2025-christmas-campaign.md) - [Authentic Mother's Day Commercials](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/amazon-boxes.md)