Newsletter
World of Tanks Blows Up Christmas Real Good
Plus: Velux, Waitrose and more from Europe
If you’re gonna make a film that opens with Santa getting robbed, you’re asking for Jason Statham swaggering on-scene and turning your movie into a holiday Guy Ritchie spectacular. That’s what happens in this ad by Matter and Energy for the video game World of Tanks, which involves blasting gifts and candy canes into smithereens while a beatific Statham sits astride, like Santa from hell. It’s like that Marks & Spencer ad from last year, with a bigger budget.
Despite all the metaphors their industry affords, window-setting brands aren’t known for advertising that shoots for the stars. Sweden’s Velux breaks that mold with “The Magic Is Here. Let It In” by Twenty in Copenhagen. The work opens with a woman at a parent-teacher meeting who appears disturbed to hear her son decorates his work with images of astronauts and stars. At home, the boy sadly watches her remove the stars from his bedroom ceiling. But wait! Mama has a surprise: The actual Milky Way! (How can they can see stars that clearly? Do they live on the moon?)
Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ “Every Dream Needs a Team” bids farewell to Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world Formula 1 champion who joins Ferrari next year. This emotional work marks AMV BBDO’s foray first for the brand. And it casts light on how Hamilton literally changed what people think an F1 driver looks like. It’s a poignant love letter about the importance of representation in sport.
We’ll wrap with “Sweet Suspicion” by English grocer Waitrose, a whodunit two-parter featuring Matthew Macfayden as the detective set to answer the question: Who stole the Christmas pudding? Work by Saatchi & Saatchi.
Angela Natividad is the European markets editor at Muse by Clios. She also writes about gaming and fashion, and whatever else she’s interested in, really. She’s based in Paris and North Italy, so if you’re local, say hi. She might eat all your food.
