Woolworths, TVNZ and dentsu Aotearoa help save Christmas 

TVNZ’s Santa Tracker has been a fixture on Christmas Eve for years, and this festive season it’s working even harder.

Woolworths, TVNZ and dentsu Aotearoa have joined forces with a bespoke partnership that weaves Santa Tracker with brand messaging. 

The partnership amplifies Woolworth’s Christmas brand storytelling, highlighting weekly specials in the lead up to Christmas Day. At the centre is the heartwarming ‘Reindeer Story’ TVC, created by M&C.

Woolworths New Zealand General Manager Brand and Marketing Abbe Hale says: “Christmas is a special time of year, and Woolworths is proud to bring some magic and joy to people. 

“The Santa Tracker is a Kiwi favourite and provided the perfect platform to showcase the products New Zealanders’ love at this time of year.” 

TVNZ’s Chief Revenue Officer, Valerie Walshe said: “TVNZ’s Santa Tracker has become a household tradition for Kiwi families across the motu as we count down to Christmas each year. We’re thrilled to have teamed up with Woolworths and dentsu Aotearoa to bring the ‘Reindeer Story’ to life as part of our tracker, sharing festive joy with our viewers in a creative and engaging way.” 

Carrot crisis

Dentsu Aotearoa’s media strategy has placed Woolworths front and centre of TVNZ’s annual Santa Tracker. The campaign launched on December 8 on TVNZ 1’s Breakfast with a live cross from the North Pole, where Santa reveals a festive ‘carrot crisis’. 

The story unfolds with Santa calling on Woolworths to help save Christmas by fuelling his reindeers with carrots. In the days leading up to Christmas Eve, Santa will appear from his HQ to thank Woolworths and cross live to stores for carrot updates – seamlessly weaving in product-led messages that hero great Christmas deals and help shoppers save at Woolworths. 

The campaign will also feature Christmas Specials across broadcast TV and TVNZ+, including 15” Specials TVCs alongside Splash and Ad on Pause formats. 

Underpinning the partnership is Woolworths’ weekly specials message, brought to life within Santa’s Merry Command System through bespoke Christmas-themed Price & Product creative. This will run consistently across all TVNZ environments – broadcast TV, TVNZ+, and Ad-on-Pause. 

Santa Tracker brings live updates

The campaign will culminate on Christmas Eve, with the Santa Tracker providing live updates on Santa’s journey and weather conditions. It’ll also reveal whether Woolworths could supply the carrots and save Christmas. 

Alex Davidson, dentsu media senior business director, said: “Woolworths Christmas campaigns are always a highlight for us. This year’s campaign is all about showing how Woolworths can help to make Christmas that little bit less stressful, even for the big man in red. It’s a great example of how thinking outside of the box can create media moments that truly stand out and elevate existing assets. It has been a joy to work with Woolworths and TVNZ to deliver this little bit of Christmas magic.” 

Credits

Client: Woolworths 

• Abbe Hale: General Manager Brand and Marketing 
• Carmen Smith: Marketing Manager 
• Nicola Yates: Senior Media Manager 
• Ben Morris: Senior Marketing Manager 
• Sam Gujer: Senior Marketing Manager 
• Lucy Key: Marketing Manager 

Media: TVNZ 

• Rachel Pittman: Business Director 
• Media Agency: dentsu Aotearoa 
• Sarah Wilson: Senior Client Partner 
• Alex Davidson: Senior Business Director 
• Abel Banda: Senior Planning Director 
• Olivia McLean: Senior Business Manager 
• Annabelle Wilkinson: Senior Business Manager 
• Ollie Whiley: Business Executive 
• Daniel Ly: Business Executive 

Creative : TVNZ Blacksand 

• Shannon Addison: Lead Creative Director 
• Varsha Singh: Head of Production 
• Xanthe Price: Commercial Producer 
• Will Munro: Editor 
• Nick Henderson & Brendon Bennett: Motion Designers 
• Christo Montes: DOP 

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