Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' Returns for Supermarket

Albert Heijn spot features Andrew Ridgeley

Back in the day, Andrew Ridgeley—the other half of Wham!—kept getting upstaged by his musical partner, George Michael.

Now, Ridge plays second fiddle to a rodent in TBWA\Neboko’s holiday spot for European supermarket chain Albert Heijn. (Harry Hamster is the brand’s mascot.)

But it’s all good, a potent slice of self-aware seasonal nostalgia to sooth the ears and eyes.

The ad reimagines Wham’s “Last Christmas,” which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

They’ve released the commercial and original 1984 clip side by side:

In the split screen, Andrew and George—who passed on Xmas Day 2016—appear to share greetings across the gulf of years. That’s teary stuff for us Reagan-era kids. A holiday miracle of sorts: the duo reunited in a carol for the MTV generation (and one of the best Yuletide tunes of all time).

“At first, I had to convince him to be part of the project,” agency CCO Darre van Dijk tells Muse of Ridgeley’s participation. “I visited Sony’s headquarters in London, showed him a previous film featuring the hamster, and he loved it.”

“Additionally, we wanted to shoot a teaser in an Albert Heijn supermarket,” van Dijk recalls. “I didn’t get an immediate yes, but he agreed a week later.”

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“Two weeks after that, he came to Amsterdam. We had dinner with the creative team and the director of the film. The next day, we shot the scenes we needed.”

Adds Ridgeley: “I am so pleased to have been a part of this year’s Albert Heijn Christmas advert. Its affectionate and clever tribute to ‘Last Christmas,’ achieved by its playful and faithful recreation of the video, is extremely well-produced and a testament to the song’s place in the contemporary Christmas landscape.”

Harry feels the same way: