Once again, the festive season was thoroughly celebrated — the trees went up, turkeys were ordered, and the organised got their present wrapping done with time to spare.

Getting into the festive spirit, there were also lots of brands wrapping newspapers with innovative and interesting seasonal ads. Here are some of the most eye-catching cover wraps from the past few weeks.

Chanel

The designer brand made a suitably stylish statement on Sunday, December 11, by wrapping The Sunday Times in a translucent cover wrap, printed with a repeat pattern of Chanel N°5.

Aside from the fact that opening the newspaper felt like unwrapping a present (always a good thing), the beautiful ad chimed perfectly with the sense of indulgence and luxury the perfume brand connotes.

With current talk of whether publishers can gain from the growth of luxury advertising, this ad is a brilliant example of how high-end brands can utilise newspapers beyond the range of supplements on offer.

Sainsbury’s

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without over-eating. There’s always room for one more wedge of stilton or a sneaky mince pie. Sainsbury’s cover wrap of The Telegraph’s Food & Drink supplement conveyed this season of gastronomic excess perfectly. Colourful and glossy, the ad folded out to provide a panoramic format depicting a family Christmas and the associated festive fare.

It’s a brilliant use of print to communicate the excess of Christmas in an engaging way. The fact that readers have to touch the ad in order to unfold it is also a plus, considering that Newsworks’ “Touching is believing” research with UCL and PHD found that touching print ads increases people’s belief that a brand is honest and sincere by 41%, quality perceptions by 20%, and purchase intent by 24%.

Half a Sixpence

Theatreland comes into its own at this time of year. Whether it’s carols, the ballet, or a good old musical, the west end of London teems with stage stars and captive audiences. In this environment, a cover wrap on the Evening Standard in mid-December publicised the capital’s run of Half a Sixpence.

It’s no secret that all shows aspire to rave reviews in the following morning’s newspapers (which was actually the case when this production made its London debut in November), so the cover wrap played on its medium cleverly by creating its own front page.

Headlined “Flash Bang Wallop — What a show!,” the creative was ideally placed to grab attention and make an impact.

From Christmas gifts to festive feasting to seasonal shows, the above examples demonstrate how newspaper cover wraps can create a sense of occasion in a unique way. By experimenting with size, material, and content, they push the boundaries of the standard cover wrap format to make an innovative and eye-catching statement.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .