The best Christmas ad for 2014 surely has to go to cummins&partners for for its Christmas version of “bought a Jeep”.

It’s elegant. Its execution is pitch perfect. And it makes you feel good, no matter how many times you watch it. (Which is a good thing. It’s on a high frequency media schedule.)

But Expedia has also put Santa to good use in an ad that provides it with a double dose of feel good around its rewards points. The travel service wanted to show Expedia+ reward members that they can donate the (abundant) points they earn this year to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help kids fight cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

So it sent the world’s most frequent holiday season traveller, Santa, around the world – flying him 19,602 miles (31,546 kms) in seven days (49.7 hours of flight time), in economy. He flew from the North Pole via Anchorage, Alaska, to Honolulu, Tokyo, Dubai, Paris, Dublin, New York and finally to Memphis, where he handed out gifts to sick kids at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital…

…and then donated all his points to the hospital.

“It was incredible to see everyone’s reactions across the globe when they saw Santa traveling. Adults turn into kids again,” Dave Horton, creative director at 180LA, commented. “It turns out everyone in the world really does love Santa.”

Vic Walia, senior director of brand marketing at Expedia, commented, “Santa flies around the world every year for children, so we loved the connection of giving him travel points to donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. More people travel during the holidays than any other time of year. We hope this campaign will encourage people to donate their Expedia+ rewards points to St. Jude, considering how quickly they can add up during this busy travel season.”

Creative credits:

Agency: 180LA

Chief creative officer: William Gelner

Creative directors: Dave Horton, Matthew Woodhams-Roberts

Art director: Chelsea Cumings

Copywriter: Trey Tyler

Production company: Ghost Robot

Directors: Dave Horton, Nick Bentgen (also DoP)

Executive producers: Mark DePace, Zach Mortensen

Editing company : Melvin

Post production company: Therapy Studios

Original music: Human