By Mohammad Owais
New York | November 28, 2025
Facebook has rolled out a new holiday campaign built around a Secret Santa storyline that taps into the classic rom-com tropes and end-of-year nostalgia. The ad, which quickly captured attention online, shows a young office worker who hopes to pick his crush’s name during the office gift exchange-only to draw the most intimidating person in the building: the boss.
Instead of giving up, he turns to Facebook for help, scanning her profile for clues, scrolling through photos and interests until he finds out she’s a KISS fan. He finds the perfect gift on Facebook Marketplace, ends up impressing both his boss and his crush, and the story closes on a warm, holiday-school-crush note.
It follows a growing trend among big brands relying on small-stakes, feel-good storytelling — awkward parent-child moments, workplace crushes and relatable social dynamics — as the dominant emotional tone for the 2025 holiday season.
A high-profile national rollout
Facebook is backing the campaign with a major media push that covers several high-profile placements, including:
- Major broadcast TV and cinema buys
- Presence during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
- Features during the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting
- A curated Marketplace Holiday Shop featuring creator-driven recommendations and gift lists.
This multi-channel strategy underlines Meta’s commitment to positioning Facebook Marketplace as a go-to shopping destination during the year’s busiest retail month.
College Sports Partnerships Add a Second Layer
Along with the holiday-themed narrative, Facebook is running a significant push within collegiate sports, one of its quickest-growing engagement pillars.
The initiative includes:
- Partnerships with 10 universities and 180+ student-athletes
- Sports Illustrated gameday takeovers
- Branded fan zones at rivalry matchups
In-app additions include school-themed post backgrounds, hidden team animations, and the option to add fight songs to Stories.
These features also make Facebook more relatable to young users and college-age audiences, a time when competition across platforms is increasingly higher.
A Tight, Relatable Holiday Strategy This Facebook Secret Santa campaign marries holiday emotion, light-hearted romance and some very practical product integration, particularly for Marketplace. The brand’s bet is on a relatable storyline that mirrors real-life office dynamics and taps into the season’s gift-giving ritual. With heavy media placements, complementary sports partnerships, and in-app festive features, Facebook positions the ad as a holiday flagship effort.
