Here’s the second installment of our 2013 agency holiday card guide. The first is here. If I missed out something great, email me and I’ll add it to the list.
JWT
This year, JWT Atlanta used a 3-D printer, a RaspberryPi microcomputer and a bit of woodworking to hand-build two WiFi-enabled, blog-posting Holiday Houses, or JWT “Ho-Ho-Holiday Houses.” Using a motion detector, the houses recognize when a visitor has stepped in front of them, and the person is surprised with a random holiday greeting from one of the Dallas elves. It then snaps a quick picture of the person’s reaction and posts it to the JWT Holiday House Tumblr blog to spread some holiday Internet cheer. The photo is then tagged to the holiday greeter, connecting the “greeter” in Dallas with the “greetee” in Atlanta and NYC.
Mullen
This is fun: Thanks to a “patented device created in-house by some guy in Mullen’s IT department,” the Hater Translator turns mean-spirited blog comments into messages of hope. ‘Tis the season of good will, after all.
DigitasLBI
For its holiday card, DigitasLBI figured that everyone loves a good cocktail and created Get Blitzen, a customized cocktail recipe machine. Noticing I was visiting the site from the sleepy London suburb of New Malden, the site noted that a winter mojito might help spice things up. I think it might be right.
Bob’s Your Uncle
Canadian shop Bob’s Your Uncle is pretty sure Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford, is on the naughty list this year, so it’s helping Santa out and delivering coal to Toronto City Hall on his behalf. Anyone can contribute to the coal pile at RobFordCoal.com, and for every piece of coal, Bob’s Your Uncle will donate $1 to help children in need. Luckily, the agency set a limit of CA$5,000, however, because over a million pieces had been submitted on the site as of yesterday morning.
Tribal Worldwide
This year, Tribal created The Tribal Table, which promises to turn photos of users’ holiday meals into food for hungry children. Users must download an app, photograph their holiday meal, and for every photo shared, it will donate a meal to The Lunchbox Fund.
Iris Worldwide
Aiming to create a Yuletide yardstick of who’s being naughty and who’s being nice on Twitter this holiday season, Iris created Seasons Tweetings, which tracks the holiday spirit across the U.S. in real time. The resulting data are entertaining.
Deutsch NY
Worried that clients will miss their “Deutschers” over the holiday period, Deutsch NY created these print-your-own holiday buddies. No 3-D printer is needed here — they’re made of paper and ready to print and assemble.
Winsper
After a long year of client work, Winsper took the holiday card opportunity to air some grievances. The result is this “12 pains of Christmas” story told through the eyes of any marketer who has ever worked at an agency. Let’s hope clients see the funny side.
More in Marketing
Digiday+ Research: The 2026 guide to holiday marketing strategies, including A-Frame Brands, Mastercard and Ritual
Shoppers continue to grapple with higher prices and affordability, while brands face rising operating costs and increased pressure to prove their marketing dollars are delivering measurable returns.
Inside the indie agencies founded by Omnicom and IPG’s former staffers
Thousands of media practitioners and creatives have left Omnicom since its merger with IPG. Some have already founded their own agencies.
Who owns the creative brief? Brands and creators are renegotiating the relationship
Brands are moving creators beyond sponsored posts and into the creative process, reshaping who influences marketing decisions.