The team’s creative process was driven by Starbucks’ mission to make a connection with Walmart shoppers and inspire them to elevate their holiday gatherings with Starbucks coffees at home. The idea was to introduce consumers to limited edition holiday-inspired flavors available at Walmart, fostering the same excitement one feels when the Starbucks Red Cup and holiday drink lineup hits the cafés. Introducing a variety of Starbucks coffees and lattes to make at home led to a user flow that gave consumers the ability to explore limited time only flavors along with their favorite ones. No matter which flavor in the campaign users were engaging with, the Starbucks branding remained prominently within the frame. To achieve the key emotional element that guided the larger strategy, the creative team set a scene that evoked the warmth, familiarity, and comfort of a family celebrating the holidays at home.

The creative team recommended its high-impact push-down unit as the large canvas displayed Starbucks's branding most clearly. The ad first pushed down publisher content while snow lightly fell and Starbucks offered to “Fill Your Cup.” The opening frame introduced users to a portfolio of holiday products, each with a hotspot intended for further exploration. Each hotspot drove the consumer to a flavor-specific section, featuring unique short videos—the videos provide tasting notes, holiday inspiration, and brewing education. The scene was set in a kitchen with glittering lights, suggesting a home decorated for the holidays. A red ribbon motif carried throughout as a subtle nod the popular Starbucks Red Cup, connecting the at-home experience to Starbucks cafés. Once the user finished engaging with the ad, they could close it, still displaying the most important message: Starbucks wants you to “Fill Your Cup” at Walmart this season.

The push-down unit performed at or above its benchmarks with an average CTR of 2.38%, average Interaction Rate of 4.24%, and average Engagement Rate of 29%. The unit generated 6,627,814 impressions total. The creative team worked with 3rd party researchers to ensure that the campaign ultimately fulfilled Starbucks’ original KPIs of awareness and foot traffic. One study found that the campaign drove a 28% lift in store visits. Another study measured emotional response to the creative, revealing that the campaign created a 127% lift in positivity (specifically, happiness and surprise) over the standard ad norm. When asked to respond to the ad, consumers expressed surprise, appreciation of the brand, and enjoyment of the overall theme. The ad ultimately scored a 5/5 on the “Emotion-Into-Action” scale, ranking it in the top 4% of all ads measured.