Shutterfly campaign promotes “meaningful” photo gifts

North America’s personalized photo products leader Shutterfly is changing its tone this holiday season. After two years of campaigns featuring celebrity Kris Jenner in its holiday campaigns, Shutterfly is now promoting personalized photo gifts as superior to kitchen gadgets, clothing and other “meaningless stuff.” At a time when the outlook for 2024 holiday gifting season is cause for concern for many industry members, this message is a welcome one.

According to T.L. Stanley, writing in Adweek, “No one wants the pre-wrapped fragrance set from Walgreens, the tabletop fireplace, the oversized chocolate fountain, any ‘talking’ wall plaque or novelty necktie–and yet those gifts, or ‘gifts,’ arrive each year, destined for dusty basements and yard sales across America.

”Shutterfly, in one of the first holiday ads to launch for the 2024 season, suggests an antidote to impersonal, forgettable presents. What the brand leaves unsaid, diplomatically, is this: Stop giving crappy, throwaway gifts. You know who you are.”

“The ‘Make Something That Means Something’ campaign comes from newly formed agency Quality Experience. It’s the first work for Shutterfly and also the inaugural effort from the independent shop after debuting early this year.”

“Make Something,” through a series of videos, wants to contrast mass-produced tchotchkes and airport-grade swag with the customizable greeting cards and photo-centric gifts that are Shutterfly’s stock in trade.

“We played with the big idea of meaningless stuff and how ubiquitous it is and how much junk gets put in storage or piles up under the bed,” Weiss, the agency’s creative chairman and former global chief creative officer for DDB, told Adweek. “And we looked for a simple way to bring that to life.”

Creatives chipped in with personal anecdotes and ended up with plenty of useless doodads and whatnots to serve as examples in a pair of hero 60-second ads, from lauded director Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks.

The brand wants to “inspire people to rethink how they approach holiday cards and gifts,” according to Bree Casart, Shutterfly’s chief customer officer told Adweek. The season provides a “unique opportunity for sharing and receiving those personal glimpses into our lives and connecting in a meaningful way.”

Shutterfly is supporting the campaign with a new holiday card collection and gift guide, where consumers can add their own images to coffee mugs, fleece blankets, pillows, puzzles, water bottles and wall art.

As an added element of the campaign, the creative team opened a parody e-commerce store on Shopify called Meaningless Stuff, offering 28 intentionally silly items—based on props from the commercial shoot—for sale at nominal prices.

Consumers, obviously getting the joke, have responded by snapping up merchandise like portable foot spas (“like a spa, only smaller and sadder,” per its ad) and goofy ties (“let your dad know he’s someone you know”).

The Shutterfly “Make Something” campaign will air this month across linear and streaming TV, along with placements on social and digital channels. Watch the ads here.