Walmart Holiday Campaign 2026: Muppets Unify the Season

Walmart's 2026 holiday campaign, "A Who Knew Carol," remakes the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol to carry gift ideas, Black Friday and Cyber Monday savings, and last-minute express delivery in one continuous story. Instead of running separate campaigns for each leg of the season, the retailer is using a single theme so shoppers can recognize Walmart quickly during the most cluttered advertising period of the year (Marketing Dive, October 26, 2026).

How is the Walmart holiday campaign structured?

Walton Goggins plays Ebenezer Scrooge alongside Kermit, Miss Piggy and other Muppets, while Stephanie Beatriz plays Scrooge's niece and leads the Spanish-language spots. Each of the three ghosts is mapped to a seasonal selling moment.

Ghost	Message
First	Gift ideas and product assortment
Second	Black Friday and Cyber Monday savings
Third	Last-minute gifting, including Walmart Express Delivery in 30 minutes or less

Scrooge's arc from humbug to appreciation mirrors the reappraisal idea behind Walmart's "Who Knew?" platform, launched last year to correct outdated perceptions and attract higher-income, style-minded shoppers. CMO William White described the Dickens story as a reappraisal story, which is why it fits.

Where will the campaign run?

Publicis Groupe agencies Fallon, Leo New York, The Community, Digitas and Zenith created the work. A social teaser showing Goggins meeting Kermit came first, followed by a long-form film recreating the original's opening number. More videos and social content will roll out through the fourth quarter.

The plan covers broadcast, streaming, online video, social, out-of-home, audio, podcasts and creator networks, plus NFL integrations where on-air talent references the campaign. Muppets that were not in the original film, such as Pepe the King Prawn, were added because of their popularity in meme culture.

Takeaways for marketers

Deloitte expects holiday retail spending to rise 10% year over year. Walmart's most recent quarter brought revenue of $187.9 billion, up 5.9%, with e-commerce up 24% and now close to a quarter of U.S. sales. Rival Target is countering with its own concept, covered in Target Holiday Campaign Turns Gift Advice Into a School.

BestPartner's view on what transfers to other brands:

1. Treat seasonal phases (discovery, deals, last-minute) as scenes in one story rather than separate campaigns.
2. Borrowed IP builds cross-generational recognition fast, but only when the story's arc matches the brand message.
3. Plan creators as a channel that handles awareness, reappraisal and conversion together; White called them an important part of the mix.

Source: Marketing Dive