Christmas in Barcelona not only sees a big increase in consumer spending but also in the cultural and social events that take place. In recent years the city council has chosen to reflect the full range of these festive activities rather than just focus on the commercial side of the holidays. They have done this by taking a more narrative approach to their campaigns.

Over the summer of 2017 the administration got in touch with Hey and gave us the task of devising the concept and creativity for the city’s 2017 Christmas campaign. The communication required a tone which was not only friendly and festive but which also had to convey the idea of a Christmas of coexistence, participation, and togetherness. They wanted it to be fresh and modern and to move away from the more conventional festive themes.

We worked with Usted to come up with the concept for the campaign. The idea was to reinforce the message that Barcelona is an open and tolerant city. A place where there isn’t a right way to celebrate Christmas but instead somewhere where everyone can do their own thing.

The campaign appeared under the concept of Viu el teu Nadal (“Live your own Christmas”). In all the different elements of the campaign we played with the idea of using elements that weren’t normally associated with one another. We felt these obvious contrasts would make it more interesting to the public. So the texts started with the type of traditional Christmas features and themes that you would expect but we then added an element which immediately looked out of place and clashed with the festive subject. This makes the point that, no matter what plans or tastes a citizen has, they are welcome in Barcelona.

We invited Barcelonins to live Christmas the way they want to with messages and graphics that went that little but further than the typical one.

Just like the concept itself the graphics used in the campaign can be interpreted by the public in the way they want which helps them connect more with the festivities. We used the striped lines to represent a diverse Barcelona. Red and green ribbons cover objects which have a universal Christmas appeal. Some of the items are traditionally festive but others are things from everyday life. All these different elements together make a Christmas campaign that went that little bit further than the typical one.