FUEL branding logo

Behind the Scenes: 25 Years of FUEL Holiday Cards

For 25 years, our annual Holiday Card has been more than a tradition at FUEL. It has been a simple gift of joy to clients, friends, family, and everyone who has crossed our path.

With Tiny Tidings of Joy shared during the 2025 Holiday season and it being our 25th year, we thought we’d pull back the curtain to give you a peek behind the scenes. This video dives into how these annual videos come together: the brainstorming, the late nights, the laughs, the last minute thrash to get it out and the pure creative energy poured into something that has never been about promotion.

      2001: Light Overcoming Darkness

      We opened FUEL’s doors in January 2001 full of excitement, energy and momentum. Then September 11th changed everything. Some clients paused projects. Others disappeared altogether. Budgets froze. We bootstrapped our personal credit cards, mortgaged our home, borrowed on our retirement savings and were blessed with generous loans from a long-time friend and his son, just to survive.

      Come December and with the Holidays looming large, we had no funds for gifts. But we had time and tremendous gratitude. This was a time when direct email wasn’t yet a thing, nor was sending a holiday greeting through email. We chose to go the digital route even if it wasn’t even considered a mainstream channel because it could be done at zero cost. So Electric Santa, an animated GIF sent by email, became our first Holiday card.

      It was basic, heartfelt, and surprisingly well-received. People replied. They smiled. The tradition started.

      Growing Into Something Special

      Year two featured FUEL Log and included a bonus link to the now-legendary North Pole Cam. This looping video appeared to be a live closed-circuit camera feed. It featured several elements that gave it credibility including conditions, wind speed and direction, a flashing “recording” light and a timestamp readout. Yet all the camera view showed was endless “white out” conditions throughout the entirety of the loop.

      Over the years, the cards evolved: more sophisticated, more clever, occasionally cheesy but always fun. By Thanksgiving, the inquiries would start arriving: “Is the holiday card coming?”

      While the ideas changed, the goal remained consistent: share a moment of lightness for busy families, far-flung friends, and clients in tough seasons.

      Where the Magic Happens

      As with all of our work, we cling to our time-tested process, collaboratively building each holiday card together.

      Challenging? Of course. Stressful? Absolutely. Rewarding? 100%.

      From Electric Santa in 2001 and the North Pole Cam prank of 2002 to more recent gems like “Tiny Tidings of Joy” in 2025, the archive tells the full story of creativity year after year.

      In case you missed it, check out “Tiny Tidings of Joy” here: https://fuelbranding.com/holidays/

      Or browse the full 25-year archive here all year around: https://fuelbranding.com/holiday-video-archive/

      From all of us at FUEL, thank you for being part of this tradition. Watch for more “Behind the scenes” snapshots as we roll through our 25th year.