Editor’s Note: This article originally published on November 30, 2023
The general debate over when Christmas season truly begins has plenty of options. For some, it’s the day after Thanksgiving. Others say it begins earlier. For another contingent it’s the first snowfall or first day of December.
Then there are those who believe one specific commercial dictates the start of Christmas season: Corona Extra’s ‘O Tannenpalm’ ad.
You know the one, where the palm tree gets dressed up with Christmas lights while someone offscreen whistles ‘O Tannenbaum’.
The ad pops up every year without fail and without virtually any updates. It’s simple, it’s calming and it’ll play approximately 80,000 times during every sporting event from late November to New Year’s Day.
The commercial has been around so long and become such a staple that it’s worth knowing a few fun facts about it.
It first aired in 1990 (and remains the longest-running beer ad)
That’s right. This tradition has been kicking for three decades now.
Many of us have literally only known a world where ‘O Tannenpalm’ airs every December.
It was filmed in Akumal, Mexico
The ad’s creator, Mike Rogers, chose the location on the Yucatán Peninsula after a previous family vacation there where he was struck by the town decorated in Christmas lights.
It cost less than the $50,000 to make
Or approximately 1,852 packs of 24 Corona Extra bottles. Even better, because there were no actors, the company hasn’t had to pay any residuals.
That’ll make it a bit easier to stay on air for 30-plus years.
Alligators kept invading the set
According to the ad’s creator, Mike Rogers, the area in Akumal where they were filming was very marshy and home to plenty of alligators. They kept wranglers on set to keep the reptiles away from the crew.
“We had to scoop the alligators out of the way and keep them out of the way,” Rogers recalled in 2015. “The cameraman was petrified.”
Thankfully, they only needed 10 takes.
Corona has tried to replace the commercial
It just couldn’t come up with a better idea, according to Jim Sabia, the chief marketing officer of Constellation Brands Inc.’s beer division.
“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,” Sabia told the Wall Street Journal in 2015. “It’s so simple, powerful and emotional. It’s extremely hard to beat.”
