Starbucks’ new “Drawn Together” campaign highlights several elements of its ongoing transformation – from encouraging baristas to add more personal touches to customer orders, to reviving its cafés as welcoming “third places” for community and connection. The holiday season remains a key moment for the brand, marked by special limited-time menus and its signature festive cup designs – this year featuring green-and-red ribbons and checkered motifs. The 2025 holiday campaign tells the story of two illustrated characters sketched on coffee cups who embark on an emotional journey together, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
According to Tressie Lieberman, Starbucks’ global chief brand officer, the campaign brings together signature elements of the brand – blending the warmth of its inviting coffeehouse atmosphere with the charm of hand-drawn illustrations that come to life across its iconic holiday cups.
Like many holiday ads, Starbucks’ 2025 campaign embraces a warm, emotional narrative centered on two animated characters who come to life after being drawn by a barista. As coffee orders accumulate, the pair are separated by a growing line of cups but soon embark on a whimsical journey across Starbucks’ vibrant seasonal designs – skiing, trudging through snow, and ultimately reuniting, their connection echoed by a real-life couple at the film’s end.
Set to The Proclaimers’ classic “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” the minimalist animation by Geoff McFetridge spotlights the brand’s newly designed holiday cups, created by Starbucks’ in-house studio, and closes with the uplifting message: “Together is the best place to be.”
“Drawn Together” builds on Starbucks’ previous holiday effort, “Drink In, Breathe Out,” a stop-motion animated campaign that aired across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The new spot marks a fresh chapter for the brand’s U.S. marketing under Anomaly, the Stagwell agency that took over Starbucks’ creative account earlier this year as part of a broader brand revitalization effort emphasizing stronger storytelling and marketing investment.
For this season, Spark managed media planning, while Conscious Minds oversaw social activation. The campaign will run across major broadcast and cinematic moments throughout the fourth quarter, including the CMA Awards, the “Saturday Night Live” Christmas special, and screenings of “Wicked: For Good,” “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” and “Marty Supreme.”
