We have delivered Amazon’s global Holidays campaign each year since 2017. Our singing boxes had become a staple of the Christmas period and the results were incredible.
But nobody could have predicted what the holidays would look like around the world in 2020. It was an unprecedented year, so developing Amazon’s Christmas campaign meant treading a fine line.
We knew we were not be in a position to celebrate the holidays as we normally would. So instead, we celebrated the one thing that remained consistent throughout the pandemic – the irrepressible spirit of optimism that people showed in pulling together to help each other through.
2020 also marked the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, and we wanted to reflect that in our approach. We cast almost entirely from the BAME community, and worked with director Melina Matsoukas and her team to ensure the process and narrative were given the respect required to tell the story of a young girl from this community.
The campaign was live in 11 global markets and the response to the campaign was phenomenal. And it played a key role in what was another record-breaking holiday season for Amazon.
Things were still tough in 2021 and we needed to find an approach that would resonate with the audience. We chose to tell the story of a young woman who is struggling with getting back to normal life, and to show that it is the small acts of kindness that have the biggest impact. The spot debuted a brand new Adele song, ‘Hold On’.
We worked with the Diversity Standards Collective to engage with black women from the US and Europe who were living with anxiety to ensure we were accurately representing their lived experience. The DSC said it was the most emotional reaction they’ve ever had to a session like this and stated, ‘It’s refreshing, and promising, to have these big influential brands recognise the importance of telling diverse stories in a way that resonates and paves the way for more of a variety of stories to share the spotlight’.
The Christmas season is a time for happiness, love and celebrations, but in 2022 we were facing the biggest cost of living crisis of our time.
Many people would not be spending as much, and being frugal was a key thought in everyone’s mind.
So, our Amazon Christmas campaign told a story that proves what we all know. Joy isn’t bought, it’s made. It was brought to life by Academy Award winning director, Taika Waititi.
