Finding Originality in a Commercialized Season
On special occasions, Catholic Social Services (CSS) will send a message to its supporters through targeted publications. For Christmas, they asked us to design an ad that would commemorate the season and spread a message of hope and joy. Christmas cards and messages are so plentiful that it can seem like it’s all been done. Effective advertising and communications often depends on creating something unique and so we challenged ourselves to conceive something that would stand out. CSS wanted us to include a Bible verse, so instead of drawing something from the typical nativity/Christmas narrative, we looked elsewhere and found a great excerpt from one of Paul’s letters. Creative Director, Brian Holds worth notes:
“One of my favourite qualities in religion is when it defies the platitudes and truisms that we are all too familiar with. Every now and then, you’ll come across something, like a teaching or saying, that seems so extraordinary and perplexing, that the sense that it’s a message from another world becomes really strong. When the Bible speaks of the ‘Fullness of time’, I get that exact impression. It makes me pause and wonder because I don’t quite understand it. It’s an encounter with mystery that elevates the mind and soul to something greater than ourselves.”
In the context of Christmas, this seemed like a great way of portraying the event in a way that transcended the manger sets and decorations. It introduced the larger picture of what was going on; that God had a plan and that all of it’s energy was materialized at that point in time.