All Signs Point to a Tearfully Sweet Holiday Ad From Kohl's

Willie Nelson’s yearning take on “Rainbow Connection” becomes a holiday hymn of sorts in Kohl’s year-end commercial from Yard NYC and Central Films director Rodrigo García Saiz. Before you watch the 90-second spot, make sure you have a festive box of Kleenex handy.

Titled “Give With All Your Heart,” the story of a little girl who sits in her window and chats with an elderly neighbor using handwritten posters takes an unsettling turn when the woman mysteriously vanishes for weeks on end. The girl wishes as hard as she can for her friend’s return. In fact, it’s all she wants for Christmas.

Since this is a holiday commercial, we’re pretty sure things will turn out OK … and of course, they do. Though it’s tough to tell when you’re watching through a flood of tears.

Kohl’s says the film “hints at current events without making them the focus of the spot.” Indeed, the neighbor’s disappearance is never explained, though when she reappears, she’s wearing a hospital wristband.

It’s a scenario in tune with Covid times, when “positive connection is what we all are looking for,” says Saiz. “I think we can all relate to the little girl longing for a friend.”

CREDITS

Agency: YARD NYC
CEO & Co-Founder: Ruth Bernstein
Chief Creative Officer: Stephen Niedzwiecki
Group Creative Director: Ulrika Karlberg
Associate Creative Director: Megan Yanchitis
Copywriter: Leah Keiter
Designer: Enbe Lee
Executive Producer: Emily Green
Production Coordinator: Jannah Miller
Executive Director of Strategy & Digital Innovation: James Denman
Account Director: Bobby Bush
Project Manager: Michelle Daley
Editorial: Final Cut
Editor: Joe Guest
Music: Human Worldwide
Audio Mix: Significant Others
Post Production: Significant Others

Production Company: CENTRAL FILMS
Executive Producer: John Barreiro
Director: Rodrigo Garcia Saiz
Producer: Maeliosa Tiernan
Production Designer: Freya Bardell
Director of Photography: Robert Yeoman