Bangor Savings Bank ‘Christmas Kittens’ Ad Turns 40!

Happy Anniversary, to an iconic holiday tradition!

The Bangor Savings Bank "Christmas Kitten Commercial" is turning 40!! 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.

The Christmas Kittens have aired eevery single year it first aired way back in 1980. To mark the commercial’s 40th anniversary, Bangor Savings Bank is celebrating with this amazing video that takes a look behind the scenes to see how it was createtd, 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 Waylon and Willie kept falling asleep, and that the iconic “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 flimed?

Bangor Savings Bank is donating $10,000 to animal shelters in Maine and New Hampshire. The shelters will be chosen by an online vote that starts today and runs until midnight, December 31, 2020. Voters can submit their choice at www.bangor.com/kittens