How Old Is Corona's 'Feliz Navidad' Commercial?
The end of each year always brings a cavalcade of new commercials in the spirit of the holiday season, but the most iconic of the bunch are those old classics that return year after year. There's M&M's nostalgic "They Do Exist" ad, LeBron James' meme-worthy Sprite Cranberry spot, and, of course, Corona's "Feliz Navidad" commercial.
Corona's ad, which features the ambient sounds and sights of a tropical night along with a whistled rendition of "O' Tannenbaum," has been a staple of the holiday marketing cycle for a long time — to the point where younger audiences may not even remember a time before its existence. So, exactly how long has it been around?
As of 2023, Corona's iconic Christmas ad is 33 years old, with the spot — officially titled "O' Tannenpalm" — making its debut all the way back in 1990. After Hershey's Kisses' similarly-ubiquitous "Christmas Bells" ad, it's the longest-running holiday commercial out there. Despite being around for decades, the commercial's content has remained virtually identical to how it was presented during its first year.
O' Tannenpalm is a holiday classic
Some of the reasons why Corona's "Feliz Navidad" commercial has managed to stick around for so long include its simplicity and timeless quality. As it turns out, this minimalist approach was a priority for Corona and partner commercial agency Campbell Mithun Esty when creating the ad. "We wanted to keep it very clean so that there was no ambience of commercialism to the commercial," retired CME CCO Mike Rogers told the Wall Street Journal in 2015.
Between the ad's strong foundation and iconic status, Corona executives have continually opted to simply stick with it year after year rather than develop a new version. "We've tried over the years to come up with another holiday ad, and every time we look at the storyboards and concepts we go back to this," Constellation Brands Inc. CMO Jim Sabia said. "It's so simple, powerful, and emotional. It's extremely hard to beat."
Corona has historically taken pride in the longevity of "O' Tannenpalm," even releasing a brief documentary video on its creation to celebrate the ad's 25th anniversary in 2015. Now, nearly a decade later, and with the ad approaching its 35th birthday, it's still going strong as one of the most popular commercials on the air.