# Holiday Gift Shopping Ads This Ad for PayPal Promotes Spending Time with Family Instead of Malls By Ady Floyd | Published 2015-11-14 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shopping-ads References: [adweek](http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/paypal-ad-getting-hundreds-complaints-it-spoils-christmas-167926) & [paypal](https://www.paypal.com/ca/webapps/mpp/pay-online) PayPal created a series of shopping ads to promote the ease of online holiday shopping rather than attending busy malls. These shopping ads encourage families to spend more time together instead of shopping for one another separately. The ad begins with two young boys who notice that their parents are home more often during the holidays, as opposed to going out and shopping. The boys express their concern about not getting any gifts for Christmas, because their parents always seem to be home with them. On Christmas morning, the siblings wake up and find countless wrapped presents beneath their tree. PayPal hopes that the ads will increase online holiday shopping habits so that families with be able to spend more time together. While the commercials show that children still enjoy receiving gifts, they also stress that the holidays are better spent together and with loved ones. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 0.4/10 - Popularity: 2% | Activity: 3% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Online Holiday Shopping:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop new online shopping platforms with enhanced features to improve the overall holiday shopping experience. - **Promoting Family Time:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create innovative apps or services that facilitate and encourage families to engage in activities together during the holiday season. - **Shift From In-store to Online Shopping:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Offer personalized online shopping experiences that replicate the sensory aspects and social interaction found in physical stores. ### Sectors Adopting This - **E-commerce:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop AI-powered shopping assistants that provide personalized recommendations and simplify the online shopping process. - **Digital Entertainment:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create interactive digital experiences that combine entertainment and shopping, allowing families to have fun while making online purchases. - **Retail Technology:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Build virtual reality shopping platforms that bring the convenience of online shopping together with the immersive experience of in-store browsing. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Solution-Oriented Holiday Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/solutionoriented-holiday-ad.md) - [Humorous Payment Platform Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/paypal-checkout.md) - [Sentimental Holiday Ad Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/joy-is-made.md) - [Peaceful Holiday Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/take-a-holiday-from-the-holidays.md) - [Iconic Character-Inspired Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/etsys-christmas-ad.md) - [Festive Shoppable Choirs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shoppable-choir.md) - [Emotional Holiday Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/john-lewis-2025.md) - [Authentic Mother's Day Commercials](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/amazon-boxes.md) - [Warm Tech Holiday Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/a-friend-for-christmas.md)