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Ever since she defrosted and told us it was tiiiiiiime, it’s been Mariah Carey’s season. And brands know it.
To capitalize on the non-trademarked Queen of Christmas’s seasonal fame, brands have created everything ranging from dolls based on Carey to fast-food menus curated especially for her. Here are some of the most notable campaigns we’ve seen this year:
- Victoria’s Secret teamed up with Carey to promote its holiday collection and plastered the singer on its NYC flagship store with the tagline, “Victoria’s Secret celebrates Mariah season.”
- The Children’s Place featured Carey and her twins, Moroccan and Monroe, in its holiday campaign, with the singer wearing a gown she designed and the kids in matching outfits.
- Mattel created a holiday-themed Barbie based on Carey’s likeness.
Carey’s dominance of December has been evident in past years, too:
- Last year, Booking.com offered people the opportunity to win a trip to NYC and stage a Christmas card photo shoot in Carey’s apartment as part of “Mariah’s Ultimate Holiday Experience.”
- In 2022, Walmart and Unilever created an exclusive line of holiday-themed gift sets with Carey under Unilever’s Find Your Happy Place brand.
- Peloton also worked with Carey that year to create an Artist Series across 11 classes—and she even showed up to a Peloton class to promote it.
- In 2021, McDonald’s created The Mariah Menu, in which it gave away some of the singer’s favorite menu items for free over 12 days in December.
- That same year, Carey also released her first-ever official holiday collection in partnership with NECA and sold at Target and Walmart. Products included ornaments, holiday cards, and wrapping paper.
Billboard estimates that Carey could make more than $2 million in royalties each year from “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—and that doesn’t even include her other songs, tour revenue, or merch (this year, she partnered with Amazon Music on merch for her Merry Christmas One and For All! Tour).
It’s probably safe to say that even without the brand deals, she would be doing just fine come December.
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