5 ways agencies made their holiday cards fun

You have no notion of the stupidity involved in designing a holiday card for a national company. Especially if it’s Chrysler. For starters, there are a hundred seventy religions in America, and only one of them believes in Santa Claus.

However, creating festive messages doesn’t have to be stressful, nor do the messages have to be unimaginative. Here are five ways agencies added spice to holiday greetings:

1. Including pop culture references.

Love them or hate them, it seems people can’t get enough of the music of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé or of massive TV hits such as “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.”

Hollywood Public Relations used “Orange is the New Black” as the theme for its parody card this season:

If you can tie a pop culture reference to your work (such as how to market like a pop star or avoid a crisis a la Olivia Pope), do it. Not only does it entice people to read your message, but a holiday card like this sticks out among all the staid greetings in the style of Currier and Ives.