Key Takeaways
- Amazon steers its holiday ad toward emotion this year.
- Scored by a bespoke rendition of The Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers."
- In Q3, Amazon hit a record operating margin of 13.9%.
Amazon’s 2026 holiday campaign riffs on an experience most can relate to: the Odyssean effort of making it back home to loved ones in time, battling inclement weather and unreliable public transport.
Luckily for the lead character—Joy, played by New Zealand actress Kate Laidler, who finds herself stranded at an airport after all flights are canceled—the kindness of strangers prevails.
The two-minute thirty-second spot, “Joy Delivered,” follows her journey as she hits a dead end with her bus, hitchhikes with donkey farmers, spends a night in a cozy boat cabin on the high seas, and hails a cab from a giant to make it home just in time. As thanks along the way, Joy hands out the gifts originally intended for her family.
“The holidays are one of the busiest times of year, and Amazon’s role is to make the season easier so customers can spend more time on what matters most,” Jo Shoesmith, Amazon’s vp and global chief brand officer, told ADWEEK. “Whether that’s helping them find thoughtful gifts across a vast selection or making sure those gifts arrive quickly through Prime, Amazon takes care of the details so customers can focus on the people they love.”
Blending the old with the new
The campaign aims to strike a more emotional tone than last year’s holiday ad, “Every Thing for Every Holiday,” which highlighted the breadth of what Amazon offers, said Shoesmith.
“The biggest challenge was getting the tone right,” Shoesmith said, noting the spot’s humor and whimsy, but that the emotion had to feel “earned and real.”
It’s a tough balance to strike. Removing gift-giving entirely from holiday ads isn’t easy, and it can become a lightning rod. The John Lewis holiday campaign this year has faced some backlash for its portrayal of “spoilt” grandchildren.
“The other challenge with Christmas advertising is finding the balance between familiar and surprising,” Shoesmith said. “People love the nostalgia of the season, but they also want to see something they haven’t seen before.”
The spot is scored by a bespoke rendition of The Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers” and will run across owned and social channels, as well as paid media, TV, CTV, and cinema.
The campaign was created by Amazon’s in-house creative team Amazon XCM. It also worked with video production company Smuggler, production company Work Offline, post-production studio Alt.vfx, and media agency Omnicom NYC, plus Amazon’s internal social team MODE.
Amazon reported its earnings last week, posting its highest-ever operating margin in Q3 of 13.9%.
