On the same day news dropped that Jeff Bezos has decided to give away his $A185 billion fortune in a particularly generous philanthropic move, Amazon’s annual Christmas ad (or holiday, as the Americans prefer) has dropped.
Conceived by US creative agency Lucky Generals, the ad comes with some serious director power in the shape of none other than Oscar winning Kiwi director, Taika Waititi.
The cute spot, called “Joy is Made”, follows a father and daughter relationship. There’s also enough hints along the way (photos, set dinner place, etc) that the mother is missing, presumably having passed away.
The spot’s set to the rather un-Christmassy “You Hold Me Up” by folk band The Bones of J.R. Jones and follows the young girl’s obsession with a snow globe that she takes everywhere.
B&T won’t give the end away and you can check out the short and the long versions of the heart-tugging work below.
Commenting on the ad, Amazon’s EU GM of marketing, Ed Smith, said in a blog post: “We’re constantly inspired by the inventive spirit of Amazon customers, and we wanted to tell a story with a different view of generosity and giving at Christmas, and the joy from doing something special for someone you love,.
“We’re happy to play a small part in the creation of that joy, but the hero of the story is a father’s love for his child,” Smith said.
Here’s the shorter minute-long version:
And the extended two-and-a-half-minute version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQWLKhhWBTs
