A gift may lose its novelty, but the moment we received it often stays with us much longer. This idea is at the heart of the new holiday campaign by Tiffany & Co., which this year places family memories and the relationship between a mother and daughter at the center of its communication, rather than lavish displays of jewelry.
The global campaign Love Is a Gift was developed by agency American Haiku, with its centerpiece being the two-minute film You & Me, directed by Derek Cianfrance, known for films such as Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines. The leading role is played by Amanda Seyfried, the brand’s new ambassador.
The story takes us back to 1990s New York, where a nine-year-old girl spends a December day with her mother, a choreographer working on a production of The Nutcracker. A visit to her mother’s workplace, an outing together, and a walk past holiday window displays become an experience through which the girl sees her mother beyond her everyday role as a parent for the first time. Years later, a Tiffany Christmas ornament connects that day to her adult life.
This shift in the child’s perspective forms the emotional core of the campaign. Rather than the gift being the reason for a family gathering, it becomes a reminder of the moment their relationship changed. As Ben Muckensturm, creative director at American Haiku, explains, the idea was to portray those rare moments when children discover their parents’ world, their interests, work, and identity beyond parenthood.
For Tiffany & Co., this also marks a change in creative direction. While last year’s holiday campaign featuring Anya Taylor-Joy relied on a fantastical world built around the brand’s recognizable blue boxes, this year’s campaign opts for a more intimate, realistic story. According to Thom Glover, founder of American Haiku, the goal was to move away from the traditional language of luxury advertising and create an emotional Christmas story that would still feel distinctly Tiffany.
This approach is further supported by the direction of Derek Cianfrance, whose work often focuses on complex human relationships and subtle performances. Nostalgia for the 1990s runs through both the film’s visual identity and its music. The 1994 song You and Me Song by The Wannadies has been given a new, softer interpretation, shifting its meaning from romantic love to the bond between mother and daughter.
The brand’s history is present through the set design without taking over the story. Production designer Karen Murphy used original objects from Tiffany’s archives, while the Christmas ornament connecting past and present was specially created with inspiration from the famous Bird on a Rock brooch, designed by Jean Schlumberger in 1965.
The campaign will run globally in cinemas, on social media, digital out-of-home displays, and the brand’s owned channels.
For Tiffany & Co., the film represents an attempt to communicate the value of a luxury gift through what remains after it has been given. Jewelry and the recognizable blue packaging are still part of the brand’s world, but in You & Me, their meaning comes from the story the audience follows rather than the product itself.
