Teleflora Presents a Boy and His Bot for Xmas

Even heartless AIs will shed a tear

Robots have appeared on kids’ holiday wish lists since before Rudolph could fly or glow. That notion drives Teleflora’s “The Boy and the Bot.” The idea’s presented at scale—and there’s the best tearjerker twist we’ve seen so far this yuletide season.

Developed by the Wonderful Agency (part of the brand’s parent company) with HunkyDory director Duncan Christie, the tale takes place at a hospital. We watch a little guy bravely recover from illness with help from his super-sized automaton chum.

These besties do everything together: play, draw with crayons, take walks for physical therapy.

We can feel a big reveal lurking around every antiseptic corridor.

That ending, though quietly understated, packs the emotional force of titanium steel.

All in all, a sweet use of tech tropes and misdirection to tell a very human story.

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The ad will appear across social and TV platforms. It ties in with the third year of Teleflora’s seasonal Make-A-Wish partnership. So far, the company has donated $750,000, equalling 75,000 wishes.

“The idea began with us reflecting on what Make-A-Wish is truly about: being someone’s wish come true. For some kids, that could mean granting a once-in-a-lifetime trip or a special experience. But it can also mean something quieter and just as powerful: simply being there for a child who needs you,” Wonderful agency CCO Bobby Pearce tells Muse.

No AI was used because “it still has a little way to go before it can deliver the kind of precision and emotional nuance we needed,” he says. “So, we went old school. We built a robot costume and hired a performer with experience in mascot work to bring it to life.”

The actor inside the suit is only five feet tall, but she walked on special stilts during the shoot.

And owing to tech limitations, in the scene where the robot holds the boy’s hand while he gets a shot, “someone was lying on the floor, out of frame, pulling a fishing line to activate the thumb,” Pearce recalls.

“That level of commitment is a credit to our director and production team, who constantly went above and beyond to make sure every detail felt real.”