The hype that surrounds Black Friday has spread north of the border. Canadian retailers promote an atmosphere of "deal hysteria" in an attempt to add more fuel to the fire of an already frenzied spending period. Holiday purchases put a lot of pressure on monthly household budgets, which often leads to lingering credit card debt that casts a shadow into the New Year.

The level of debt in Canada is at an all-­time high, totalling $505 billion. One out of eight Canadian households are heavily indebted. The current estimate is that the average Canadian owes $28,853 in non-­mortgage debt. All this debt creates a lot of stress.

Credit cards are one of the main reasons behind the alarming rise in debt. Consumers have become dependent on them, often overextending themselves until they eventually spiral out of control financially. And with the proliferation of loyalty programs and cash back cards, more and more consumers are putting everything on credit in order to maximize their points.

Unlike credit cards, Interac Debit gives Canadians an easy way to pay using real money. That means never going into debt, never paying a cent of interest and never receiving a bill that you don't know how you're going to pay. Not only is being free of debt critical to financial stability, research shows it also keeps you feeling more relaxed, capable, confident, and optimistic.

Going into the 2015 holiday period, the brand's strategy was to help guide Canadians to having a "Merry January" by avoiding the debt hangover that often comes with increased credit card use over the holidays. The Interac Debit brand wanted to send a clear message about the perils of debt and the benefits of paying with your own money using Interac.

The brand's goal was to encourage Canadians to avoid accumulating debt during the highest-­spending period of the year – the holiday gift-­giving season – when the emotional justification for spending money you don't have is at a peak.

Specifically, the campaign objective was to hold firm on existing market share with a conservative goal of achieving a 0.5% growth of Interac Debit transactions over the previous holiday season.

To help Canadians avoid the January blues that come with a huge post holiday bill, Interac and agency Zulu Alpha Kilo developed the "Merry January" campaign to remind Canadians there's a stress-­free way to buy during the holiday season with Interac Debit card instead of credit.

At the centre of the campaign was a richly cinematic film that features a last minute holiday shopper whose imagination runs wild in a toy store. At the exact moment the woman reaches for her credit card, the inanimate toys in the store come to life and warn her of the perils of credit card debt.

To the tune of Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the toys sing "Debt, debt, debt, debt, debt." Once back to reality, the shopper wisely decides to use her own money instead of credit, and pays with the convenience of her Interac Debit card.

Additional online videos featured a festive, Griswold-­like family putting a twist on two traditional carols: "Don't debt the halls with credit follies" and "We wish you a Merry January". The campaign also included out-­of-­home, print and digital executions with the headlines: "Debt is a real nutcracker"; "You're a foul one, Mr. Debt"; "Credit Card Fees? Humbug"; and "Sleigh interest fees".

The Interac holiday campaign not only held firm on its market share but achieved a 1.1% growth in transaction volume goal over the campaign period and convinced Canadians to use their Interac Debit card over 41.5 million times more than they did during the holiday season the year prior.