Why aren’t there ad campaigns for Chanukah?

I’ve been inspired to write this because over the last several years in blogging, I’ve experienced what I’ve experienced my entire life — an overload of Christmas. And don’t get me wrong. I LOVE the season. But there always seems to be a shortage of celebrations for Chanukah as well. I will say that Chanukah decorations have gotten much better over the last few years (here’s lookin’ at you Target). But especially in the world of blog partnerships and collaborations, I sometimes feel that little niggling in the back of my mind that things would be easier if I celebrated Christmas and could accept those partnerships. 

Every September/October, an influx of holiday campaigns come through my inbox. Whether it’s Christmas cards, Christmas decorations or Christmas cookies, I have only had a tiny handful of Chanukah campaigns come through, and they are almost solely Chanukah pajamas or “Winter” themed pajamas. I often wonder why?

I get it. 

Chanukah is definitely the minority holiday here, but it would be nice to feel like large companies care about the little dogs too. Especially in a world that has seen a tremendous rise in antisemitic attacks even in the last year alone, being flexible to change your campaign from talking about “preparing for your Christmas feast”  to a “family latke party” would speak worlds to both the Jewish bloggers who want to work with you, as well as your Jewish followers and consumers. 

I always reply back to these Christmas campaign emails and mention that I’m Jewish and don’t celebrate Christmas. I almost always give an alternative way that I could seasonally participate in the campaign (I mean, a Kleenex box is nondenominational). Sometimes I don’t even hear back from the brand after that initial email. I know that G-d has already planned how much money I’ll make in the year, but it can frustrating to have to pass on numerous partnerships, with brands I love (!), just because of my religion. 

It’s not all companies.

I’ve definitely seen an increase in Chanukah campaigns the last couple of years. I work with other Jewish-owned businesses a lot during this time. And I don’t take advantage of those opportunities for a second. In fact, they’re some of my favorite partnerships, and I look forward to them every year.

But I think you can see that I’m really talking to big brand/box companies, like Papyrus, Schweppes and Barilla Blue Box just to name a few. Your products are for everyone. And I have an audience who would love to see what your brand has to offer. I want to share it. But I only promote items that I love, trust and use myself. So when I’m automatically rejected from a campaign because of my religion, that’s frustrating. 

At the end of the day, I know I’ll eventually be rewarded (either physically or spiritually) for staying true to my values, but let’s throw the Tribe a bone. Cheers to breaking barriers and sharing more Chanukah partnerships with brands in the future.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this topic! Happy Holidays everyone!