Kroger Unveils Its Heartwarming Holiday Campaign
The Kroger Co. has made it an annual tradition to share a message of holiday warmth and cheer, in partnership with creative agency adam&eveDDB. This year, they’re continuing their storytelling tradition with their 2025 holiday film, “Operation: Gingerbread.”
Made Music Studio worked with Kroger to create an original score for the campaign, which honors the dedicated service members of our armed forces through a partnership with the USO. Building on Kroger’s recently launched sonic identity, the music is yet another part of their growing sonic branding toolkit. The underscore stands out from traditional holiday advertising music, deepening the emotional resonance of the story while creating a cohesive feel across all touchpoints.
Check out the heartwarming spot below:
“Operation: Gingerbread” 0:60 | Kroger
Bringing “Operation: Gingerbread” to life
Kroger's 2025 holiday campaign, “Operation: Gingerbread” features their beloved Kroji characters to tell a story of creativity, family and homecoming, all in honor of U.S. service members. The spot, directed by Yves Geleyn, follows a young girl who is determined to make a small gesture for a family member: a uniquely shaped gingerbread cookie that packs a whole lot of meaning at the holiday table.
For the music, we focused on amplifying adam&eveDDB’s storytelling, with a creative approach similar to that of scoring a film. To complement the characters and their on-screen journey, we crafted a minimalist arrangement that features acoustic guitar, humming and strings. The feel-good composition captures the feeling of “coming home” in alignment with Kroger’s special USO partnership.
In addition to tugging at the heartstrings, the resulting track stands out from traditional holiday advertising music, increasing differentiation and appeal for Kroger and its family of brands.
Behind Kroger’s seasonal sonic branding
Kroger has one of the most comprehensive sonic branding strategies in retail, inserting its sonic identity throughout their ever-expanding brand ecosystem, which includes TVCs, digital and in-store. “Operation: Gingerbread” uses Kroger’s recently launched sonic identity in a unique way — opting for an original track where other brands choose to license popular music for their holiday ads. By creating a custom score, Kroger is ensuring ownability and track exclusivity when it comes to campaign music this holiday season.
In addition to the score for “Operation: Gingerbread,” Kroger’s seasonal sonic assets also includes a holiday brand theme, sonic logo and custom scores for Thanksgiving-themed advertising. These audio elements will be integrated wherever the Kroger brand is, demonstrating the flexibility of their owned sonic assets and brand melody.
We’re proud to help drive home Kroger’s message of togetherness and warmth this year, the best way we know how: through music.
