WAAY

In addition to “Station of the Year,” Alabama Broadcasters gave awards to TV stations in more than 40 categories including best promotions, local TV commercial, local sports, social media, podcasts, reporter, investigations and weather, just to name a few. You can watch them here.

Here is Part 1 of a collection of new “Happy Holiday” promos and some older ones drawn from the archives of Market Share columns over the years. Part 2 will publish tomorrow.

WAAY, Allen Media’s ABC affiliate in Huntsville, has been named Alabama’s Television Station of the Year by the Alabama Broadcasters Association. “There is great responsibility that comes with being named Alabama’s Station of the Year, and I’m honored to work side by side with this team of dedicated professionals,” says Mike Wright, WAAY’s general manager.

Google the “best holiday TV commercials for 2021” and you’ll get quite a few links to sites that have singled out the best from their point of view, both from here in the U.S. and overseas. Here are some that made most of the lists.

Here’s a spot from Darcy Stapleford, senior news promotion producer for KSTU, the Scripps Fox affiliate in Salt Lake City. “Our anchor, Kelly Chapman, suggested we shoot our holiday promo at a light display this year,” Stapleford says. “I began to think how colorful lights on long, dark, winter nights is a good comparison to finding love, hope and inspiration during the dark days of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

WJXX and WTLV,  Tegna’s ABC and NBC affiliates in Jacksonville, created a 60-second spot that captured the “sense of family and joy in a sincere way, like from our family to yours through iconic imagery,” says Kristen Joyal, WJXX/WTLV’s marketing director.

WAAY in Huntsville, Ala., wanted to bring a little different message to its audience. It arranged for approximately 1,400 students from schools all over North Alabama to participate in recording Let There Be Peace on Earth.

“WAAY had a busy day on Wednesday supporting Together for Alabama,” said Suzanne Sullivan, the Huntsville, Ala., station’s creative services director. “We did not raise funds for one particular organization, instead we gathered multiple ways to donate money, time, and supplies and put it all together in one place on our website. So many folks have been asking how they can help.”