L.L.Bean Revives Holiday Nostalgia with 'Invited to the Holidays Since 1912'

This holiday season, L.L.Bean has brought back the nostalgia with its latest campaign from Day One Agency: Invited to the Holidays Since 1912.

Rather than try to outshine the noise with spectacle, 'Invited to the Holidays Since 1912' brings back nostalgia through L.L.Bean’s most beloved icon: the flannel. Built on found footage, social UGC, and decades of home videos, the campaign celebrates how L.L.Bean has quietly been part of real holiday moments for over a century.

Built on the stories from L.L.Bean history in flannel, the campaign revisits moments like Clark Griswold’s iconic flannel in Christmas Vacation and home videos of families dancing in flannel PJs - proof that L.L.Bean has long been woven into the fabric of the holidays for over a century.

Day One found inspiration for the campaign by digging into the archives and social UGC to uncover decades of people and traditions that show how L.L.Bean’s flannel has been a holiday staple for generations. Beyond featuring the flannel scenes from Christmas Vacation, the TVC leverages real found footage, such as a parent and child outside with L.L.Bean Flannel and Beanies on, or a mom and her daughter dancing in the kitchen in Flannel.

The result is a campaign that feels as familiar as it looks, evoking warmth, belonging, and the feeling of home.

At a time when brands are looking for ways to be the biggest or most cinematic on the screen to try and break through during the Holidays, Day One Agency and L.L.Bean took the opposite approach, celebrating the brand’s heritage, highlighting some real customers and celebrating their flannel loving community. It’s a reminder that the most meaningful holiday moments aren’t always generated; they’re shared.

'Invited to the Holidays since 1912' will run nationally across TVC/OTT, social, digital display, radio, and print. In addition, there will be a pop-up activation in NY through November 30th, bringing the cosy spirit of flannel to life in person.

The holiday campaign is a continuation of L.L.Bean and Day One’s strategic and creative partnership, which kicked off this past January.

“Holiday advertising often tries to outdo itself with bigger productions and louder moments. We went the other way: less flash, more human,” said Jamie Falkowski, chief creative officer at Day One Agency. “This campaign has been in the making for decades, through family photos, films, and traditions. It’s a celebration of those real moments that connect us, generation after generation.”

“L.L.Bean has always been part of life’s everyday moments, but the holidays hold a special kind of magic,” said Nick Wilkoff, CMO at L.L.Bean. “Invited to the Holidays Since 1912 celebrates that timeless connection and the role flannel plays in it. It’s more than a fabric for us; it’s a thread that runs through generations of gatherings, traditions, and memories.”

L.L. Bean’s flannel is the official uniform of the holiday season, which is why Day One Agency produced an extra special print campaign exclusively for New York Magazine. Launching in their gift guide issue on 11/14, the full bleed spreads feature the brand’s various flannel patterns promoting their Soho pop-up.