Macaulay Culkin Channels “Home Alone” in Nostalgia-Inducing Ad Campaign with a New Problem for Kevin McCallister
- - Macaulay Culkin Channels “Home Alone” in Nostalgia-Inducing Ad Campaign with a New Problem for Kevin McCallister
Michael NiedNovember 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
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Home Instead; Don Smetzer/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Macaulay Culkin in his 'Home But Not Alone' ad campaign for Home Instead and in 'Home Alone' -
Home Alone's Kevin McCallister is back and dealing with a new problem in an ad campaign for Home Instead, a company that provides in-home help for older adults
Macaulay Culkin reprised the role for the "Home But Not Alone" campaign, which honors the 35th anniversary of the holiday classic film
In the ads, Culkin's character is bubble-wrapping the front yard to keep his mom safe when he is greeted with a blast from the past
Macaulay Culkin's Home Alone character, Kevin McCallister, is all grown up and facing a new challenge in a timely ad campaign.
The 45-year-old actor famously played the plucky kid who single-handedly fends off burglars in the 1990 original Home Alone and its 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Both times, he was bamboozling the bad guys, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
In his new "Home But Not Alone" campaign for Home Instead, a company that provides in-home care for older adults, Kevin is more concerned with protecting his mom, Kate McCallister (Catherine O'Hara), from any potential dangers in their home.
Culkin reprises the character in several clips for Home Instead's holiday campaign.
The main spot opens with a hand-drawn map that reads "Mom's Safety Plan." It features several potential danger zones in the home and notes reminding Kevin to secure a carpet to prevent tripping and to raise the toilet seat and install a stairlift to make it easier for his mom to get around.
"I'm just worried about mom being by herself, y'know? What if she falls down or gets snowed in? They never did catch that South Bay Shovel Slayer," Kevin says on a phone call while wrapping holiday decorations in the front yard in bubble wrap.
His conversation is interrupted by the sound of a shovel on the sidewalk, and he gets a blast from the past by connecting with the Home Alone character Old Man Marley's granddaughter.
She asks Kevin what he's doing and provides some advice about a better way to help his mom: "Have you tried talking to her about getting a little help?"
"The scariest part is starting that conversation. Then at least you'll know and can stop worrying about it. It's not easy, but how you feel about family is a complicated thing," she says, echoing what Old Man Marley had to say to Kevin in the past.
Culkin filmed several other clips for the ad campaign, including one that directly calls back to a moment from Home Alone. In it, he's walking down the street with bags of groceries in his arms when they split and scatter everywhere.
"We wanted to tell this story authentically, recognizing that we all experience this moment with a loved one at some point," Jody Hill, who directed the "Home But Not Alone" campaign, explained in a release shared with PEOPLE. "It goes beyond holiday nostalgia to connect with Kevin McCallister years later – as he faces the same concerns many of us have as our parents age. It's real, it's funny, and it's deeply human."
Home Instead
Macaulay Culkin in the 'Home But Not Alone' ad campaign for Home Instead
The various "Home But Not Alone" ads will air during screenings of Home Alone and other holiday programming as well as during college football through Jan. 11, according to the press release.
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20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Macaulay Culkin in 'Home Alone'
Despite first playing Kevin 35 years ago, Culkin still seems to feel a close bond to the iconic character. It's a connection that is being passed down to his children, too.
In December 2024, the dad of two revealed that his 4-year-old son Dakota was mixing up his own memories with what he saw his dad do onscreen in the classic movie.
"He thinks he's Kevin," Culkin told E! News. "I'm like, ‘Do you remember going down the stairs on the sled?' He's like, ‘Mmhmm, yep. Sure do.' I'm like, ‘Do you remember when he had yellow hair?' And he's like, ‘Uh-huh, yep.' "
How did Culkin reply to his son? He jokingly said that he referred to Dakota as "a lying liar who lies."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
