The holiday season at Starbucks is officially here, marked by the annual unveiling of its festive cups—but this year, the fanfare comes with a particularly rich layer of strategic significance. Meet “Drawn Together,” the 2025 holiday ad campaign that is less about selling lattes and more about defining the soul of the Starbucks brand.
The ad, featuring charming, hand-drawn figures animated directly onto holiday cups, is a playful metaphor for the connection Starbucks is striving to reclaim. It spotlights the personalized notes baristas write and reinforces the concept of the coffeehouse as the cozy, essential “third place.”
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to Starbucks’ holiday ad campaign.
The Details:
- Overall, the :60 “Drawn Together” spot was the most effective and best-received ad in the Starbucks holiday campaign on the strength of its storytelling:
- The hero spot registered excellent breakthrough ability ranking in the 91st percentile in grabbing Attention and 95th in Likeability while also outpacing coffee QSR norms (past year) in Relevance/relatability. While none of the new spots were perceived as informative vs the average category ad, each served well as Likeable and relatable brand reminders. Although the campaign shows the holiday cups, viewers were drawn into the storytelling on first view over the product.
- The longer format allowed for more entertainment and engagement, with the :60 “Drawn Together” being the only spot to generate emotional signals for the Funny and Narrative responses. All three cuts sparked Nostalgia as well, helped by the Audio track.
- The hero spot registered excellent breakthrough ability ranking in the 91st percentile in grabbing Attention and 95th in Likeability while also outpacing coffee QSR norms (past year) in Relevance/relatability. While none of the new spots were perceived as informative vs the average category ad, each served well as Likeable and relatable brand reminders. Although the campaign shows the holiday cups, viewers were drawn into the storytelling on first view over the product.
- As intended, the holiday campaign stood out vs other coffee QSR ads for its music and Colorful visuals:
- Despite high Likeability, the campaign did not perform as successfully in driving consumer intent. However, the :60 and :30 spots (51% Top 2 Box) sparked similar consideration, which could allow for a favoring of the shorter :30 in forward media rotations without negatively impacting business outcomes. The :15, however, struggled in this area.
- Viewer sentiment on the :60 “Christmas Cups: Drawn Together” confirms the appeal of the McFetridge animations, with the creative visual storytelling (snowball fights, characters meeting) resonating strongly – and drawing interest and Attention successfully:
- The winter love story narrative easily evoked holiday spirit and warmth, conveying the ‘togetherness’ message in a positive yet distinct manner. Viewers expressed excitement for both the season and holiday drinks.
- While the Proclaimers’ song was widely recognized and appreciated as upbeat and nostalgic, a few viewers found it “annoying” or questioned its relevance to coffee and/or the holidays.
- Of course, a few viewers expressed concerns related to the brand (political/corporate issues, price sensitivity) and/or length of the hero spot.
- The winter love story narrative easily evoked holiday spirit and warmth, conveying the ‘togetherness’ message in a positive yet distinct manner. Viewers expressed excitement for both the season and holiday drinks.
Sample comments on the “Drawn Together” :60
“I like this ad. It’s interesting and makes the viewer stay engaged. I like how it begins very calmly and as it goes on, it gradually gets more exciting. I like how they started it off with the barista drawing on a cup just as they would in real life. The music was also a great touch. I wouldn’t mind seeing this ad. I enjoy ads like this one that don’t feel like a drag to watch.”
Male 21-35
“I was very amused and entertained by the visual scenes in the ad with the moving figure on the cup and the visual scenes of the creamer slowly entering down into the cup of coffee. It made me definitely want some Starbucks!”
Female 21-35
“I very much enjoyed the visuals on the Starbucks cup with the music from The Proclaimers. It was different for Starbucks and much better than usual ads.”
Female 36-49
“I enjoyed it. I was having a bad day, and this ad, believe it or not, upped my spirits. Almost nostalgic. Kind of made me think of my partner, and just enjoy life a little. Maybe life’s too fast sometimes, and we need to slow down for the good stuff. Also, it made me crave a hot cocoa.”
Male 36-49
“Love it. The season, holiday, colors, message, products, and even the music was awesome! The whole thing works together to pack a great advertising punch!”
Male 50+
“The music was the most catchy thing in the ad. I really liked it, and once it really started getting into the meat of the song, I started tapping my foot with it. I’m not sure that has anything to do with the actual product, but it was kind of cute watching the animation with it as well.”
Female 50+
“It is a creative ad about getting together for yummy Starbucks coffee. The drawings on the cups and the motions were a creative and fun way to make you want Starbucks this season.”
Female 36-49
“I like Starbucks, but then I remember how expensive it is and how much I’d rather buy and make my own coffee at home. It tastes about the same and is half the price.”
Male 21-35
“I think this ad demonstrated the togetherness that the season can bring. The ad also brought joy and happiness with getting a cup of coffee with a friend or a loved one.”
Female 21-35
- Tim Horton’s effectively drove higher intent (59% Top 2 Box) with their holiday :15 conveying a message of gifting oneself treats after a year of giving:
- The Tim Horton’s spot was the most product-focused (aiding in evoking desire/intent) while Dunkin’s :60 attempt at value messaging featuring Jen Affleck was less persuasive, likely due to a primary focus on the celebrity.
- The long form “Drawn Together” appealed most successfully to a broad audience with the benefit of more complete storytelling:
Advertisers need to identify the creative that will drive business outcomes and ensure that in-market execution aligns against the highest potential ads.
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Creative Agency: Anomaly