For Christmas, U.K. Retailer Tells a Curious Toy Story

Plus Ikea, Jameson, WWF and more tasty European morsels

We’re deep into holiday ad season, and our first comes from British toy retailer The Entertainer. Created by Adam&EveDDB, this stars a cute plushie called Ray who once held the heart of a young girl. But love is fickle, and she’s moved on to the flash and speed of monster trucks!. “Must’ve been love … but it’s over now,” sings a blasé row of dolls, right before the child’s new love interest goes full throttle.

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Ikea Poland and VML Warsaw present “Hej Hej Hej!” In this cozy holiday work, a little dog gets depressed when his humans take away his favorite armchair. After observing his distress with growing concern, they wheel in a spankin’ new Strandmon and put it in the same place as the old one. That’s when they find out what doggo was really missing.

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Those inspired to raise a toast this season will perhaps enjoy the latest installment of the “Must Be a Jameson” series. In Ogilvy U.K.’s “The Greatest Story Almost Told,” Aaron Taylor-Johnson takes us on a visually-pleasing storytelling tour of the whisky’s creation without actually saying much.

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We love a chic Sephora holiday ad, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It’s all sparkles and crowds, courtesy of BETC Etoile Rouge and BETC Fullsix. The music helps make it special.

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Let’s wrap with something of a different emotional tenor. WWF International’s “In Hot Water” by NOMINT is shot entirely in stop-motion with a thermal camera, accompanied by Radiohead’s “No Surprises.” It all comes together in a film that’s ambient, beautiful and heartbreaking even before you explicitly know why. It’s a work of art, really, about climate change creating marine heatwaves. There is something soothing about such mellow sadness at a time when so much else feel sharp.

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