This Remarkable Ad Sets the Bar for Cinematic Storytelling This Holiday

We’ve seen plenty of holiday ads already this year, but nothing on quite as grand a scale as this one from Norway. 

The four-minute film, by Nord DDB, is for Elkjøp, an electronics retailer operating in six Nordic countries. It tells the cryptic but beautiful tale of a young girl visiting family at Christmas—including an older man she’s afraid of at first, but whom she grows to love, as it becomes clear they share the same spirit. 

The piece leaves many of its dots unconnected, but tells just enough—and in such a gorgeously sweeping, cinematic way—to be enthralling. And its holiday message at the end, about how gifts can sometimes say more than words ever could, is a lovely one at this time of year. 

The theme is “To give more.” See the film here: 

Director Rune Milton, who has a thing for both kids and airplanes, filmed the spot in Lithuania and South Africa. It will air in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

“Sometimes there is so much to say. So many words to choose from. And sometimes there is nothing to say. Because words are not enough. But what is hard to say can sometimes be easier to give,” the brand says on its YouTube page. 

“So, what does it mean to give? With a little extra thought, a little extra devotion, it can become more than just a gift. And things can become something more than things. Let’s add some extra thought behind the gifts this Christmas, and let the gifts become more than just gifts.” 

It’s a nice sentiment, and not a new one for Elkjøp. A couple of years ago, the retailer released a lovely series of Christmas spots—including one about a father and his transgender daughter—showing that “a gift can say it all.” 

CREDITS
Client: Elkjøp
Nordic Marketing Director: Eddie Hernandez
Chief Brand Officer: Åshild Indresøvde
Agency: Nord DDB
Chief Creative Officer: Andreas Dahlqvist
Art Director: Kristofer Gullard Lindgren
Copywriter: Hanna Stenwall
Creative Lead: Fredrik Simonsson
Planner: Elias Betinakis
Communications Planner: Jesper Andersson
Account Manager: Lena Gallon
Executive Producer: Mattias Yngwe (DDB House)
Producer: Lars Nordenson
Agency Producer: Nils Ljunggren
Business Director: Jens Welin
Account Director: Hanna Ternström
Production Company: Bleck
Director: Rune Milton
Photograph: Paul Meyers
Final Art: Patrick Emt, Marie Persson
Music: Jonas Larsen
VFX: The Gentlemen Broncos: Michael Balle, Kim Fersling
Online: Robert Eskekärr, Jakob Andersson (DDB House)
Sound: Kevin Koch
Voiceover Recording: Redpipe
Actors: Terrence Hardiman, Savannah Hayes, Mark Elderkin, Jenna Upton, Anele Matoti