Klick Hired to Rebrand Santa in Satirical New Holiday Video

Hilarious mockumentary described as ‘The Office meets Mad Men for the Holidays’;

Agency to donate $1 for every YouTube view to WE Charity to help lift communities out of poverty

A Klick Creative Director pitches 'Yoga Santa' in the just-released 2016 Holiday Video – an entertaining and off-the-wall, behind-the-scenes look at the agency's rebrand of Santa Claus. The video, described as ‘The Office meets Mad Men Holiday Special,' can be seen at http://www.klick.com/holiday. (Photo: Business Wire)

TORONTO--()--It’s been over a century since Santa Claus’ jolly-red brand was born – and he’s feeling irrelevant in today’s tech-savvy and socially connected, modern world. So when Santa threatens to cancel Christmas, the entire Klick team kicks into high gear to reinvent one of the world’s most iconic brands and save the holidays.

That’s the story behind Klick Gives Santa an Epic Rebrand! – an entertaining and off-the-wall, behind-the-scenes look at what goes into a corporate rebrand. The video was released today on http://www.klick.com/holiday.

“As brand marketers, we love the challenge of developing new brands and reinventing iconic ones, like Santa’s,” said Klick Co-Founder and CEO Leerom Segal. “Having the opportunity to showcase our wicked-smart team and incredible culture, and create a hilarious holiday memento for our friends, clients, and colleagues is icing on the ginger-cake.”

The satirical documentary-style video can be described as ‘The Office meets Mad Men Holiday Special.’ It stars hundreds of Klick employees and was shot on location at the agency’s 90,000-square-foot head office with a fast-paced, single-shot camera style, a series of amusing absurdities, and deadpan cutaway employee interviews – all very much in keeping with the irreverent multi-Emmy-award-winning TV comedy.

In the video, after Klick’s research team explores key insights around the boardroom table and identifies children as a key demographic, market research is conducted on a four-year-old boy wearing an electroencephalogram (EEG).

The agency’s digital innovation hub, Klick Labs, lends its scientific support to the rebrand by creating a Virtual Reality Santa Sleigh experience in 3D. Later, a team of Lab clinicians gear up to operate on the Easter Bunny – or in their words “tear into this bunny and see what makes him tick” – much to the chagrin of Klick’s resident, humanoid robot.

From Hipster Santa to Yentl Santa – Ho ho hoy vey!
Meanwhile, on a lower floor of the building, an overzealous Creative Director pitches his team on a number of thematic concepts, such as Hipster Santa, Yoga Santa, Zombie Santa, Lil BUB Santa, 8-bit Santa, Star Wars Santa, Mr. T. Santa, and Yentl Santa, shouting out “Ho, ho, hoy vey!”

And in another creative brainstorm, someone suggests giving jolly ol’ St. Nick a healthier image, remodeling him after television host Ben Mulroney. The impeccably coiffed Mulroney instantly appears wearing a custom-tailored red tuxedo and long, white aviator scarf. The camera zooms out to reveal Mulroney holding a fluffy Micro Teacup Pomeranian dog – their hair and fur fabulously blowing in slow motion.

Craig and Marc Kielburger, co-founders of the WE Movement, also make a special appearance at the end of the four-minute video, congratulating Klick on its rebrand success. “You really took it from Me to We,” the brothers chime in, smiling. A long-time supporter of WE Charity’s Free The Children program, Klick will donate $1 per view of the holiday video (up to $5,000) to help communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America lift themselves out of poverty.

Klick’s holiday videos have become hallmarks for the company. Known for its award-winning culture, its annual holiday videos have gone viral and been featured on CBS News, CNN, Comedy Central, Entertainment Tonight and various media outlets around the world. Klick’s 2016 holiday video can be viewed at http://www.klick.com/holiday.

Creating Santa’s iconic brand is often attributed to Coca-Cola, which commissioned illustrator Haddon Sundblom in 1931 to humanize Santa with a warm and wholesome look for its ads, however soda maker White Rock Water first ran a Santa ad in the San Francisco Examiner in December 1915. Artist Norman Rockwell also illustrated Santa on many front covers of The Saturday Evening Post in the 1920s through 1940s.

About Klick
Klick operates with a fiercely independent spirit at the intersection of technology, creativity, and strategy. The Klick family is a diverse group of people who are driven and connected by a shared culture and commitment to the relentless pursuit of awesome at Klick Health, K2 Digital, Klick Learning Solutions (KLS), and Sensei Labs. Established in 1997, Klick has teams in Atlanta, Connecticut, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, and Toronto. In 2015, Klick was recognized for having one of the top 10 intranets in the world and won over 300 awards for its client work, corporate management and culture, including being named one of country’s Top 5 Great Places to Work, Best Employers, Fastest Growing Technology Companies, and Best Managed Companies. Klick’s co-founders wrote New York Times Bestseller The Decoded Company (Portfolio/Penguin, 2014), the first book about big data in the workplace.

Klick is always on the lookout for the industry’s brightest brand marketers. For more information on joining Klick, go to http://careers.klick.com.

Contacts

Klick
For media inquiries:
Sheryl Steinberg, 416-214-4977 ext. 2412
Vice President, Communications
pr@klick.com

Release Summary

Klick Gives Santa an Epic Rebrand: Agency releases hilarious mockumentary video (described as ‘The Office meets Mad Men for the Holidays’); to donate $1 for every YouTube view to WE Charity.

Contacts

Klick
For media inquiries:
Sheryl Steinberg, 416-214-4977 ext. 2412
Vice President, Communications
pr@klick.com