Macy’s – Believe Campaign
For eight years Macy’s Believe campaign has been encouraging believers of all ages to visit their local Macy’s store to drop off a their letters to Santa in iconic red letterboxes, create and send letters through Macy’s custom app or through the store’s website. The company donates $1 for every letter collected, up to $1 million, to Make-A-Wish in an effort to help the nonprofit grant wishes to children with life-threatening medial conditions.
The campaign was inspired by the true story of an 8-year-old who wrote a letter to the New York Sun newspaper in 1897 asking if Santa Claus was real. The now famous response, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist,” has now become one of the most famous editorials of all time.
Over the course of Macy’s longtime partnership with Make-A-Wish, the company has helped raise $90 million—more than 10 million of which has been donated through the iconic letter writing campaign.
What started with letters has since evolved into a multimedia experience designed to help educate children about the importance of kindness and generosity. The launch of Macy’s Wish Writer interactive stylus and app, provided a fun and educational way for kids to write their letters to Santa in 2015.