As 2012 quickly approaches, brands are busy creating unique, charming and memorable experiences for their consumers ahead of Christmas. The Hendrick’s Gin brand, which is known for its extravagant ‘Monty Python’ style, is inviting its U.S. fans to get into the unique world of miracles and winter tales by visiting The Hendrick’s Enchanted Forest of Curiosities, which was first introduced last year in NYC and now for the first time has arrived in San Francisco for just three days, December 6-8, in SoMa. The exiting venue, which “took the city by (winter) storm with a snow-filled indoor woodland scene brought to life filled with oddities, bizarre performances, and even a West Coast-rarity of a twinkling firefly or two,” will make the next stop in Brooklyn, New York, on December 13-15, spreading the holiday spirit with its cute oddities.

There are less than 20 days left before Christmas, and it’s a great time to make plans for the upcoming year and get ready for spring. And brands are doing this now. The oldest jeanswear brand Levi’s previewed its Spring 2012 Collection in the sunny atmosphere of the springtime cheer, which we will experience in just three months. The presentation, which took place in NYC in early November, featured the new looks made with the standout models from Levi’s Curve ID, Dresses and Feminine Crafted and men’s looks for Levi’s Commuter, Taper, and Tailored for men.

It was not an easy year for Old Spice Man, as he fought with Fabio in summer to reclaim the crown and flew to distant exotic places to promote the new scents, but it doesn’t mean that he is worn out and hasn’t got anything special for his dear fans this Christmas season. Now, Isaiah Mustafa has become Old Spice MANta Claus and is going to make everyone on the globe happy these days by sending presents to all 7 billion people. You say it’s impossible? Watch the earlier videos of the campaign and you’ll change your mind—this man can do everything. Really.

This festive season, Old Navy is launching a new apparel collection with a high tech twist. Now is the time when technology is integrated in just everything we see and use, and the clothing is no exception—BMW has proved it by unveiling the vehicle-inspired apparel pieces. The Gap’s brand Old Navy is presenting a new Old Navy’s Techno World range of clothing and accessories “with built-in technology as well as a wide range of technological gadgets,” which is appealing to both brand’s fans and geeks in the USA and Canada.

Diet Coke is showing Australian women a number of great ways to burn the one calorie they get by consuming two 200 ml serving of the drink (each of them has 0.5 calorie). On the heels of a hugely successful ‘Share a Coke’ campaign launched in fall to help people reconnect with their friends by personalizing cans and sharing virtual versions of the packaging (it’s still running), the Diet Coke brand is rolling out a new promotion entitled ‘One Calorie Burnt in a Moment’ targeted at women.

The opera stage seems to be the last place where one would expect to see IKEA furniture, still it’s exactly where it recently appeared. The furniture pieces from the Swedish retailer were used for stage design of two classic operas, which are not related to either to modern house design or the history of furniture in any way. The brand, which likes to experiment with colours and forms, now has entered a new universe, the opera one, by contributing to the settings of the operas at Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa.

White can’t replace red when it comes to Coca-Cola. The carbonated drinks giant, which launched a white can (for the very first time in its history) for the winter season as part of the campaign aiming at raising awareness and funds for polar bears and their Arctic Home, is now introducing the traditional red cans, because the ‘snowy’ version got frosty reception, even though the product itself was not changed at all. Responding to consumers’ demand for the iconic red packaging, starting in early December the brand is switching the background of the limited-edition ‘Arctic Home’ cans to the traditional red, preserving the same ‘polar bear’ design.

Diesel, which revealed a line of Fresh and Bright superheroes underwear earlier this year, introducing completely new names such as Supperman, Miss Dismiss, the Iron Boy and more to the comics world, now is delving into the basics of graphic story universe and presents the Super Heroes underwear collection that takes us “to the world beneath.” This range is inspired by four iconic DC Comics characters, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern plus The Joker, and each of the boxers’ design features some elements from the hero’s image, as well as groundbreaking fabric technology, which makes these trunks be the male wardrobe essentials.

Jack Daniel’s is aiming to outperform Coca-Cola in delivering festive spirit with X-mas commercials or at least introduce a new element to the celebration with the release of a new campaign, developed by Arnold Worldwide in Boston, with the “It’s not what’s under the tree that matters, it’s who’s around it” tagline. The Brown-Forman Corporation’s brand believes that the new ‘barrel tree’ approach will touch people’s hearts for years, and will become as iconic as Coca-Cola’s Christmas elements. “We hope it will be the start of a new tradition,” tells Carmen D’Ascendis, director of global marketing for Jack Daniel’s at Brown-Forman in Louisville, Ky, to The New York Times.