Bath & Body Works launched its Season of Wonder holiday campaign on Oct. 26, 2026, with Zooey Deschanel and what the retailer describes as its largest media buy to date, tying advertising to seasonal products and the shopping experience.
This Rapid News Brief examines the rollout, not its eventual sales performance. The company has announced the campaign; it has not established that the spending will produce incremental purchases.
One theme across media and stores
According to the company’s announcement, the buy includes YouTube, connected television, social media, store placements and outdoor advertising in markets including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. It did not provide a dollar amount for the media investment.
Deschanel appears in campaign photography and film, while seasonal packaging and store experiences extend the holiday theme. The assortment combines returning fragrances with new offerings. The retailer says the collection is available through its stores and website in the United States and Canada, with selected products also distributed through Ulta Beauty and Amazon.
The breadth of the rollout matters operationally: an advertising idea is being carried into products, distribution and physical shopping, rather than existing only as a celebrity endorsement.
The commercial test follows the launch
In Glossy’s reporting, merchandising executive Kristie Lewis said the holiday shopping season accounts for roughly 40% of the company’s business. Chief brand and product officer Veronique Gabai-Pinsky described a strategy of pursuing volume while holding the price of a reformulated fragrance mist steady.
Those comments explain management’s priorities, not a measured customer response. A broad media presence and a recognizable performer can describe the inputs to a campaign without settling its commercial result.
For marketing leaders, the useful distinction is between a coordinated launch and demonstrated effectiveness. Evaluating this campaign will require separating awareness from purchases and new demand from shopping that would have happened anyway. The announcement supplies a channel plan and a creative proposition; it does not supply that evaluation.