The Dutch Try a Big, Emotional Christmas Ad and Pick a Weighty Subject Indeed

Ready for another holiday ad? Of course. Plus Supermarkets in the Netherlands just released a spot from J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam that follows a child as she shuttles between her divorced parents in the days before Christmas. [kickout id="2"] Can we just say we love this trope of the Divorced Dad with the half-baked apartment, sadly switching the TV to sports when he catches his daughter watching family videos? Meanwhile, Mom's living in this brick house with her new hubby—a comfortable life, complete with a full-sized Christmas tree. Are they only recently divorced? Is that why Dad has no furniture? Or have they been separated a long time, in which case ... what's the deal with your life, man?! No matter. After helping her mom-family prepare the tree—complete with insta-snow spray, no less!—the little girl returns to Dad's with a cardboard box, which we learn contains the most diminutive of Christmas trees, under which she's placed a handmade invitation to her mom-fam's Christmas dinner. Even if togetherness isn't the most original subject over the holiday season, it's nonetheless meaningful that advertising has stopped pretending the world is perfect, and has started addressing complex, real-world topics like divorce. (Ikea comes to mind.) This gesture by Plus is given gravity by the terse looks exchanged between the girl's parents whenever they encounter one another. They are fraught with tension and the vestiges of old grief (as if Dad's apartment didn't convey enough of that already). We don't know what happened here, but sometimes it's enough for an advertiser to acknowledge that pain exists. So when our little girl unites her parents, albeit briefly, we recognize the significance of the act—her father's eagerness to be in a place that feels familial, even if the actual family is no longer quite his. And when we watch him and the stepfather exchange the weakest of handshakes, we also know this means something else: All may not be well. It may not be well for a long time. But any pretext to be together, however prescribed, is better than leaving someone you care about behind. "In the Netherlands we don't have quite the same canon of Christmas advertising as for example the UK or the US, but it's on the rise here," says Bas Korsten, creative partner at JWT Amsterdam. "With this campaign we wanted to pay homage to the craft you see in the great Christmas ads, by being very careful with our cinematography, choice of music, casting and of course our sensitivity to the emotional subject matter. But then with a slightly different twist by not shying away from some of the more bittersweet feelings at this time of year." For all its faults, humanity remains a community. There are times of year when this is easier to remember than others. Why not take advantage? CREDITS Agency: J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam Creative Partner: Bas Korsten Executive Creative Director: Marcel Hartog Concept: Chris Sant, Dieuwer Bulthuis Art: Chris Sant, Gerard Foekema Copy: Dieuwer Bulthuis Executive Strategy Director: Daan de Raaf Strategist: Lex Noteboom Business Director: Budi Gonzalez de Chaves Screen Director: Marloes van den Berg Senior Concept Producer: Charlene Thomas PR Director: Jessica Hartley Client: PLUS Supermarket Manager Formula & Communication Manager: Bas Snetselaar Marketing Communication Manager: Cecile van den Heuvel Campaign Manager: Lydia van den Brandhof Campaign manager ad interim: Pauline Effern Corporate Comms Manager: Ingeborg Biemans- Posthumus Production Company: Pink Rabbit Directors: Ismael & Basha Cinematography: Martijn Broekhuizen Post production & Visual Effects: Captcha! Editor: MRTN edit boutique Music: The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build A Home Written by: Jason Swinscoe, Philip Jonathan France, Stella Page, Dominic Smith, Patrick Watson Published by: Ninja Tune/Kobalt/Cloud 9 Music Supervision: Amp.Amsterdam Sound: Lab 3, Jeroen van Gessel Media: Initiative Amsterdam

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The Dutch Try a Big, Emotional Christmas Ad and Pick a Weighty Subject Indeed

JWT Amsterman takes on divorce for Plus Supermarkets

Angela Natividad

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Angela Natividad