Bangor Savings Bank’s ‘Christmas Kittens’ Ad Turns 45

45 Years Later, Bangor Savings Bank’s ‘Christmas Kittens’ Still Wins Christmas

Wanna feel old? This iconic Bangor holiday tradition first debuted in 1980!

The Bangor Savings Bank "Christmas Kitten Commercial" is turning 45 this year. The ad featuring two playful kittens is a memory that everyone who grew up in Eastern Maine remembers fondly.

The two kittens scurry under the Christmas tree, swat their paws at ornaments, tear open gift wrapping paper, and lap up the milk they spilt, while the music you couldn't help hum along to plays in the background.

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The Christmas Kittens have aired every single year, since it first aired way back in 1980. In 2020, to mark the commercial’s 40th anniversary, Bangor Savings Bank took a look back with this amazing video that takes a look behind the scenes to see how it was created, and the impact it has had over the years.

There are interviews with Phil Cormier, a TV commercial editor who worked on this ad, The Nite Show’s Danny Cashman, who parodied the commercial, reflections of Bangor Savings Bank employees, trivia including the names of the kittens, who were named Waylon and Willie, and fun facts from the shoot.

Did you know that it took four times as long to film the spot, because the kittens, named Waylon and Willie, kept falling asleep, and that the legendary “meow” at the commercial’s end didn’t come from a cat, but from a person who happened to be in the studio when the ad was filmed?

Let's face it, the fact of the matter is that it just wouldn't be Christmas in Maine without this iconic ad!