A breakthrough in proprietary AI-driven brand experiences, R&R set the new standard for immersive engagement and innovation with a fun twist on a beloved holiday character.
In 2025, instead of creating a typical holiday card, R&R leveraged our unique creative expertise and AI capabilities to develop “Nick Jolly,” a fully immersive, holiday-themed AI persona.
Nick was brought to life from the ground up, starting with a detailed exploration of his purpose and intent. R&R built Nick’s cognitive data by defining his values, personality and interests, and by crafting a complex empathy map and a detailed backstory complete with Easter eggs. The result was a tattooed holiday character with brains and the brawn to match. (Nick can bench press 450 pounds, 525 after some holiday ham.)
“We gave Nick a test run, and the results were impressive—as chatbots go, he’s very quick on the draw and has plenty of amusingly written replies to share.”
– Ad Age
To make him fully interactive, the team fused a cutting-edge, text-to-speech engine with a meticulously crafted narrative and system prompt, giving Nick a voice and an animated presence that perfectly captured his unconventional charm.
The AI’s interactive landing page saw traffic and engagement quadruple compared to previous holiday campaigns.
“It’s a fun, interactive and festive display of the agency’s growing AI capabilities, but Nick isn’t just another Santa character. He’s a living case study for where the agency believes AI-enhanced brand experiences are heading.”
– roastbrief
From developing the original character concept to translating his personality into a precise AI prompt, the team balanced sincerity, depth and a refreshing break from holiday clichés. A groundbreaking fusion of bespoke AI personality, real-time visual representation and instantaneous chatbot response, Nick set a new standard for what’s possible in AI-driven brand experiences and expression.