Why not another image? How about a tree?

Poster for Lougheed Town Centre, Main and Commercial SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC

Christmas is a challenging time for marketers, especially in a multi-cultural city like Vancouver. Even for non-Christians, Christmas has become an important gift-giving occasion. But it is referred to as the "Holiday Season, and the "Christ" seems to be have been removed from "Christmas" altogether.

Some groups are trying to reclaim the Christmas season. A slogan that I've seen some US Christian organizations use with reference to Jesus Christ is "He's the reason for the season".

And even if you are not a practicing Christian, the historical background to the season is still relevant. That is the reason we get December 25th off as a holiday.

But marketers are a bit skittish about any mention of Christmas, or any use of what might be interpreted as exclusionary Christmas images or iconography. Is this the reason we see a five-pointed star rather than a Christmas tree on this poster?

Oh well, like most retailers and malls, the folks at Lougheed Town Centre have their heart is in the right place, their wallet. One retailer I worked at made 120% of its annual profit in the month of December. We would sell more in a single Saturday in December than the entire month of February. If you don't make your sales goals in December you will likely never make up the shortfall.

Given the critical importance of December retail sales, I can't see a return to religious Christmas advertising in the future. The theory being, the wider the audience, the better the response.