Amazon’s 2023 global holiday campaign shows how joyful holiday moments are made even more special when they’re shared and that having fun doesn’t have to stop at a certain age. The campaign centerpiece this :60 brand film called “Joy Ride,” which stars three older women as main characters in a story about life-long friends reviving the joy at the top of a sledding hill–all thanks to a flash of inspiration (and Amazon’s shopping selection and convenience!).
The spot features an instrumental rendition of The Beatles’ “In My Life” which ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The track was chosen as it is one of The Beatles’ most well-loved songs as well as an ode to enduring friendships and shared memories, which marries perfectly with the core theme of the ad.
Against this musical rendition and snowy backdrop, the ad is an ode to friendship–a heart-warming story that unfolds as the three stars gather on a park bench and sip hot drinks, longingly watching on as playful children and teenagers sled down the hill in their local park. There is a sense that this setting is familiar – a daily tradition, now mired by the colder temperatures.
While the world around them whizzes by, the friends stay seated, quiet and still. But not for long. The lead character takes in the scene, noticing that her friends are looking out longingly. With that, we see an idea spark within her and a mischievous smile appears. She opens the Amazon shopping app on her mobile phone and adds padded seat cushions to her shopping cart.
The very next day, the delivery arrives and, back to their special spot, the friends are presented with the Amazon box. When they open it, they are mystified with its contents. But with their interest piqued, the leader of the group encourages her friends to follow her to the hill.
The scene cuts to the friends, now ankle-deep in fresh snow, placing the new seat cushions into their sleds. With a reassuring smile, their excitement and anticipation take hold and they join the (somewhat younger) crowds on the snowy slopes. Laughter, cheers, and an emotional flashback to their youth spent together on the same slope comes flooding back. The vivacious trio are full of joy as they zoom down the hill with their arms waving in the air. The younger generation look on in admiration.
As if the years have fallen away, once the women reach the bottom of the snowy hill, they rise to their feet and, with enthusiasm, begin the walk back up the hill. Their excitement is palpable as they get ready for another exhilarating ride.
“This year’s holiday campaign is inspired by our Amazon customers and their thoughtful ideas and traditions,” said Jo Shoesmith, VP global CCO, Amazon. “The stories we tell serve as a reminder that sometimes the joy you receive from doing something special, for those you love, can uplift us all at this time of year. We also wanted to give these wonderful women the chance to celebrate the different facets of themselves and how they express joy, regardless of their age.”
Produced by Amazon’s internal creative team and production company Hungry Man, and directed by Wayne McClammy, Amazon’s “Joy Ride” has begun running in the U.K. and Europe. It debuts in the U.S. and Canada on November 13. The film will run through December.
CreditsClient & Creative Amazon Jo Shoesmith, VP, global chief creative officer; Tom Pettus, global executive creative director; Philip Griffiths, EU executive creative director; Josh Cassidy, Vincente Feliciano, group creative directors; Kurt Feng, creative director; Jeb Quaid, copywriter; David Connell, global head of creative production; Vanessa MacAdam, Paul Lewis, Juliet Rios, sr. creative producers; Claudine Cheever, VP global brand and fixed marketing; Ed Smith, general manager, EU integrated marketing; Walter Frye, global director of brand marketing; Laura Downey, global head of campaigns; Tessa Pauly, sr. brand campaign manager; Maite Molling, sr. campaign manager; Tiffany Carley, sr. creative program manager; Melissa Somosky, sr. content acquisition manager, music licensing. Production Hungry Man Wayne McClammy, director; Kim Dellara, managing partner; Rick Jarjoura, producer; Jess Hall, DP. Editorial Cabin Chan Hatcher, editor. Color Ricky Gausis, colorist. VFX The Mill Audio Lime Studios Joel Waters, sound engineer
We Are Pi Rolls Out Trailer For Nike-Backed Feature On Athletes With Olympic and Paralympic Dreams
Amsterdam-based creative agency We Are Pi debuted the trailer for Crois Pas Qu’on Dort (Don’t Think We’re Sleeping in English), an inspiring feature-length story of three young French athletes in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. The 90-minute French language film, which was developed and produced by We Are Pi with the support of Nike, will premiere in mid January 2025 followed by a release in theaters at the end of January. It follows three protagonists from Paris and its suburbs: Charles-Antoine, a runner with an intellectual disability who won Gold at the Tokyo Paralympics and is competing in this year’s Paralympics; and Leyna and Maysane, French twin sisters and heirs to their Laotian-Algerian family’s very own taekwondo dynasty who are coached by their father and dream of competing in taekwondo at Paris 2024. The athletes were followed by a film crew over the course of five years, recording how their stories, their lives and their sporting achievements unfold over time. The film combines the rawness and intimacy of their everyday lives with the audacity of their sporting dreams, with their stories culminating at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympics. Crois Pas Qu’on Dort was created with the aim of inviting a new generation of athletes in France into sport by inspiring them with the stories of our protagonists and the transformative power that sport had on their lives. The production began over seven years ago in 2017 with nearly two years of extensive casting sessions that involved viewing around 500 profiles of athletes. Two directors, Nick Walters and Lou Marillier, English and French, respectively, subsequently followed the selected young protagonists closely as they pursued their... Read More