BMO has kicked off its annual “Wrap the Good” campaign for another holiday season, using newly recorded carols to promote underrepresented businesses.

The bank’s third year of the “Wrap the Good” campaign features an album of eight “Business Carols,” wherein each of the songs features the music of a holiday standard with the lyrics altered, with the assistance of generative AI, to be about a specific business owned and operated by people from underrepresented communities. This includes “Deck the Halls” altered for home retailer Spark Candles, and “O Christmas Tree” about beauty and wellness retailer Niffy Signature.

BMO first started the “Wrap the Good” campaign in 2021 to respond to the disproportionate effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on women-owned businesses. The bank’s idea this year was to support a broader base of businesses across North America, and spotlight underrepresented businesses that depend more on making holiday sales including women, Indigenous, Latino, Black or Asian-owned businesses. 

BMO head of enterprise brand, social and content Jennifer Carli says this year’s “Wrap the Good” campaign is projected to connect the businesses it highlights to 20x the number of consumers compared to prior years.

“BMO’s purpose is to boldly grow the good in business and in life, and “Wrap the Good” is a strong demonstration of this,” Carli says. “Growing the good for holiday shoppers, and for underrepresented businesses – while driving improved brand affinity and consideration.”

FCB Canada is the creative agency on the campaign, while UM is the campaign’s media agency.

The album is available to stream on Spotify and will appear on holiday-themed radio stations and YouTube playlists. It will also be the soundtrack at BMO’s gift-wrapping station at the Eaton Centre. FCB has also created advertising that mimics promotions for popular records and CDs.

The campaign’s advertising drives consumers to the “Wrap the Good” website, which includes a gift guide and the ability to create and share holiday wish lists.

“The holidays are a busy time for consumers, and so they often defer to the path of least resistance for ease of having a one-stop-shop for their holiday shopping: big box retailers and e-tailers,” Carli says. “We’ve addressed this insight by creating a one-stop-shop of 300-plus products from underrepresented businesses, where consumers can filter by product category, location and price range.”