Elves Take a Week Off in Tui’s First Christmas Ad Campaign

While Santa Claus continues to be the beloved face of the holiday season, Tui's first-ever Christmas campaign gracefully shifts the focus to the often-overlooked heroes of the holidays.

In its one-minute spot "Happy Holidays from Tui," seemingly inanimate elf decors come to life as they see their big boss fly across the sky with his reindeers. 

As soon as Claus was out of sight, it was time for the Elves to kickstart their festivities: boarding TUI flights, throwing poolside parties, having massages and building sand castles in a vacation like no other — all to the iconic tune of "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Toy Dolls. 

Not even a phone call from Santa stopped the elves from completing their holidays.

Made in collaboration with award-winning creative agency Leo Burnett, the spot widens TUI's appeal by innovatively engaging the audience and highlighting the brand's commitment to "Live Happy."

Leo Burnett's Chief Creative Officer Chaka Sobhani explained the concept behind the campaign, saying that the agency "wanted to make sure the joy and happiness we all feel on our holidays was reflected in our elves' adventure as they head for the sun with TUI, relax by the pool, enjoy a massage and even find love."

In line with the company's broader holiday campaign, its social channels will be adorned with elves sharing "holiday elfies" from their journey.

The travel agency's social channels will host a competition, offering 12 TUI holidays as prizes and launching an "Elfie AR Filter" available for use on Instagram.

"Shaking up the yearly offering of Christmas cliches, our first Christmas campaign celebrates the feeling of downing tools and soaking up some much-needed me-time," concluded Sara Ali, Director of Brand and Content at TUI UK&I.