Overview
- Carey posted the annual clip on November 1, declaring “It’s time” and marking the unofficial start of the Christmas season.
- The spot is directed by Joseph Kahn and features Billy Eichner as a mischievous elf in a storyline built around Sephora-branded cosmetics.
- The rollout spanned Instagram, TikTok and X, with a Times Square placement, and drew rapid engagement including more than a million Instagram likes within hours and over 20 million TikTok views in under a day, according to outlets.
- Carey said she was excited to begin the season with Sephora, and Sephora marketing chief Zena Arnold framed the campaign around delivering small bursts of holiday joy.
- Coverage reiterated the song’s durable economics, citing reporting that it has generated roughly $3 million a year and surpassed $60 million in royalties by 2017, underscoring its cultural and commercial pull.