# Forgiving Santa Claus Ads Virgin Hotels' Holiday Ad is Putting Everyone on Santa's Nice List By Ell Smith | Published 2020-12-02 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/virgin-hotels-holiday-ad References: [adweek](https://www.adweek.com/retail/santa-decides-youve-been-good-enough-for-2020-in-virgin-hotels-forgiving-ads/) & [virginhotels](https://virginhotels.com/) [Virgin Hotels'](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/black-cow-1) holiday ad paints a more forgiving Santa Claus than we're used to, reminding consumers that it's okay if they weren't 100% good this year. 2020 was hard on everyone, and Virgin Hotels thinks that Santa should let some bad behavior slide. The quirky campaign throws [holiday tropes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/westjet-parents-wishlist) out the window, offering relatable and entertaining content. The [humorous commercials](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/its-not-the-thought-that-counts) feature 15-second clips of a drunk Santa reading off some of the naughty things people did this year. In one example, Santa laughs as he reads that Shannon used her bra as a face mask, while Viv and her boyfriend faked a Zoom wedding so they could get gifts. Each ad begins with santa exclaiming that this year, everyone is on the 'nice list.' Image Credit: Virgin Hotels ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.6/10 - Popularity: 76% | Activity: 82% | Freshness: 9% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - 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 ### What's Driving This Trend - **Forgiving Santa Claus:** Opportunity to challenge traditional holiday narratives and promote forgiveness and understanding in advertising. - **Relatable and Entertaining Content:** Demand for humorous and relatable advertising content to engage consumers and stand out from traditional holiday campaigns. - **Unconventional Holiday Tropes:** Preference for breaking away from traditional holiday tropes and embracing unconventional approaches in advertising. ### Who This Affects Most - **Hospitality:** Opportunity to create unique and engaging holiday campaigns that resonate with consumers in the hospitality industry. - **Advertising and Marketing:** Opportunity for creative agencies to develop innovative and entertaining holiday ad campaigns that break traditional stereotypes. - **Retail:** Chance to incorporate unconventional holiday narratives in retail advertising to captivate consumers and promote brand differentiation. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Health-Conscious Holiday Drink Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tenzing-christmas-ad.md) - [Kindness-Encouraging Soda Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-world-needs-more-santas.md) - [Kindness-Promoting Ad Reboots](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cocacolas-christmas-kindness.md) - [Personalized Holiday Videos](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/naughty-or-nice-video.md) - [Virtual Brand-Backed Christmas Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/virtual-santa-visits.md) - [Faux Santa Ad Spots](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mint-mobile.md) - [Comedic Christmas Parodies](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reinfell-ad.md) - [Playful Alcohol Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/aviation-gin-commercial.md) - [Quirky Santa Murals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cushelle.md)