HOLIDAY SPIRIT

It’s Merry Chaos in Walgreens’ holiday campaign from Leo

By Reel Chicago
November 20, 2025

Let’s face it — the holidays may look magical on postcards, but in real life they play out a lot more like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: squirrels in trees, light strings that weigh as much as a toddler, and a turkey so dry it gives you PTSD. Walgreens is leaning straight into that beautiful chaos with a new holiday campaign from its bespoke Publicis Power of One team, creatively led by Leo Chicago.

Launching November 17 and running through December 26 across streaming audio, TV, OLV, OTT, and social, the campaign reimagines a “certain beloved holiday movie family” as they barrel through one disaster after another — always saved by a conveniently timed Walgreens run.

The Hero Spot: Squirrels, Tangled Lights, Bone-Dry Turkey, Repeat

Set to the iconic Holiday Road, the 30-second hero spot packs in all the holiday mishaps we’ve come to expect from the Vacation franchise. Dad “Gris” gets ambushed by a rogue squirrel during tree shopping. The family loses a battle with tangled lights that look like they were stored in a wind tunnel. A turkey emerges from the oven looking like it survived a sandstorm. And of course, a sledding catastrophe forces a Walgreens stop for heat wraps and lozenges.

Every time chaos hits, Walgreens steps in with exactly what the moment calls for — holiday lights, a meat thermometer, snacks, sick-day essentials, and enough sanity savers to keep the season moving. Watch below:

Every moment reinforces the same idea: the holiday road is long, and Walgreens is with you the whole way. That was always the intention, according to Natalie Taylor, Executive Creative Director at Leo Chicago. “The iconic vacation movie franchise is all about real families navigating beautiful chaos, just like the families Walgreens serves every day,” she says. “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. Whether it’s a rabid squirrel stealing your hat or a sled flying through a Walgreens lot, we wanted to show that Walgreens is there for all of it — the madness and the merriment.”

“The holidays are long, chaotic, and beautiful in their imperfection,” says Jen Diacou, Marketing Director at Walgreens. “This campaign celebrates that reality and reminds people that Walgreens isn’t just for those last-minute moments – we’re your neighborhood partner through the entire season, making it all a little easier.”

The campaign doesn’t stop at broadcast. In a playful social extension, the family’s teenage daughter documents the madness through TikTok-style POV posts, dropping a giant ball of tangled lights, capturing dash-cam footage of endless caroling, even filming a saucer sled skidding through a Walgreens parking lot before a lozenge save.

CREDITS:

BRAND: Walgreens