Air Canada is once again embarking on its holiday tradition of using an animated spot to evoke the spirit of the season.

“Once Upon a Tree,” by FCB, shares the tale of two nutcracker bear ornaments that are hung on different parts of a tree. Repeated attempts to reconnect – including using a candy cane to zip-line along a string of lights – end up with one of the bears falling on the ground, plunging into a gingerbread house and plummeting into aspic, before being picked up and placed back on the tree, still separate from the other bear. Finally, an Air Canada ornament helps reunite them.

“The holidays are a time to be together,” says Jeremiah McNama, executive creative director at FCB Toronto. “It doesn’t matter if you’re separated by continents, or branches apart, people go to great lengths to be with the ones they love.”

The spot features an animation style that blends the latest CGI technology with hand-painted brushstrokes, and includes visuals imagined in the style of a storybook. Montreal singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin returns for a second year to sing Bryan Adams’ classic “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” in the English version and Jean-Pierre Ferland’s “Une Chance Qu’on S’a” in the French spot.

“We continue our tradition of combining whimsical animation with modern renditions of beloved Canadian songs to tell a story about being together over the holidays,” says Andy Shibata, VP of brand at Air Canada. “So many of our customers travel great distances and our Air Canada colleagues all feel a shared sense pride for our role in these journeys. That is the essence we wanted to capture in this holiday spot.”

“Easter eggs” are planted in the spot to pay tribute to past Air Canada brand campaigns, including a small reindeer, the loons who were the feature characters of the 2022 ad spot and a nod to the legendary Bonhomme, the official representative of the Quebec Winter Carnival.

The spot is available in cutdowns of 90, 60, 30 and 15 seconds, and will appear on both paid and organic social media, in cinema, television and digital platforms, and on Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment system.

FCB handled strategy and creative, Weber Shandwick led PR and Air Canada Media Desk handled the media.