A supermarket chain telling a war story, at Christmas, to flog more festive goodies? In the wrong hands this idea could have gone horribly wrong. AMV BBDO has the right hands.
Sainsbury’s Christmas ad will have to be the one held up – for decades – to illustrate the power of storytelling in advertising. It achieved nearly 2 1/2 million views in its first 24 hours on YouTube.
With the 100th anniversary of WW1 doing all the background work, a new war making it topical, and its own inherent message of goodwill providing emotive oomph, one of the most famous moments of the Great War has been recreated by AMV BBDO. The Christmas Truce. After five months are fighting in which 1 million soldiers lost their lives, opposing British and German soldiers emerged from their trenches to exchange gifts and play football on Christmas Day in 1914.
In the 3 minute 40 second AMV BBDO story, Christmas is for Sharing, a British soldier hears German troops singing Silent Night and ventures into the barbed wire infested no-man’s land. Eventually soldiers on both sides join in the singing (and a game of football) and the young solider meets another, a German, and they share a bond that is sealed with a handshake.
The agency worked with the Royal British Legion, that provides help and welfare to the serving and ex-service people and their families, to make the details as authentic as possible. They based it on original reports and letters from the time, and worked with historians throughout the process. The ad was launched shortly after Remembrance Day and the close of an exhibition of thousands of ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London to commemorate 100 years since the start of the first World War, that 5 million people visited between July and November.
The chocolate bar that plays a key role in the ad will be sold for £1 at Sainsbury’s with proceeds (50p per bar) going to the Royal British Legion. The supermarket chain has had a relationship with the RBL for 20 years.
“Christmas is a special time of year when people come together to share simple moments and kindnesses. This year, we wanted to reflect that theme of sharing in our Christmas campaign through the lens of one of the most extraordinary moments of sharing in modern history, when on Christmas Day 1914, British and German soldiers laid down their arms, and came together on neutral territory to share stories, mementos and even a game of football…
“The Christmas truce is an emotive and cherished story in our history that is especially poignant in this first world war centenary year. That’s why we have worked together closely with the Legion to ensure we bring this moment to life with authenticity and respect. We know many of our customers feel as passionately about the incredible work of the Legion as we do. We hope our campaign will raise awareness and funds for the Legion and inspire our customers to share a memorable Christmas with family and friends,” Mark Given, head of brand communications at Sainsbury’s, commented.
Creative credits:
Agency: AMV BBDO
Director: Ringan Ledwidge
Production company: Rattling Stick
Post production & VFX: The Mill
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