Canadian Tire has launched a new holiday campaign, with media by MediaCom and creative from Taxi, which aims to cover the bases of decorating, entertaining and gifting.

The campaign kicked off recently with a 60- and 30-second TV spot called “Runway,” which shows a young boy who is concerned Santa won’t find his new house in time for Christmas.

Canadian Tire is targeting women for holiday decorating and entertaining in a more stylized way than in previous years, placing a 12-page insert guide into women’s magazines like Chatelaine and Canadian Living, Susan O’Brien, associate VP, strategic marketing, Canadian Tire, tells MiC.

“We placed that insert there because women still like to read magazines, even if they are just skimming through,” she says. “It is also contextually relevant because if you are flipping through a magazine then chances are you are looking for design ideas. We want to be in the moment when you are thinking about design.”

The company is promoting the gifts people can buy at Canadian Tire for the first time in a few years, choosing 2012 as the year to jump back into that area because O’Brien says consumers are looking for more non-traditional gifts.

Gifting at the company is the focus of a second set of holiday commercials, which launch on Nov. 16 with the Canadian Tire spokesperson (who was introduced this fall) showcasing a series of unexpected gift ideas in a 30-second spot and series of shorter 15-second spots, says O’Brien.

In addition, the company’s holiday campaign also includes a national radio buy to catch people while they are already on the road.

“Radio is more about traffic driving, we want people to think maybe they will pop in and go to Canadian Tire,” she says.

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