Last year, Jung von Matt’s Christmas ad for German supermarket chain, Edeka, came close to stealing the conversation away from John Lewis’. That’s quite a feat.
Like, Man on the Moon, it was about a grandpa. And it was about isolation in old age. It wasn’t a merry ChrisTMas ad. In the story, a grandpa fakes his own death so that he doesn’t have to have Christmas alone. His family can only find time to reunite for his “funeral”.
This year, the tear-jerking grandpa ad comes from the UK. It’s by Chemistry for Lidl Ireland. Yes, it will make you cry, but it’s almost Edeka’s antidote. This time, Grandpa is not doing so well after being widowed. He has let things run down and he is clearly depressed. But this inspires his family to restore the house and create for him a very merry Christmas.
Irish music artist, Soak’s cover of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas underscores both the story’s mood and its plot.
Otherwise the film aims to be as real as possible, and director, Henry Mason from Antidote was chosen for his ability to tell his stories in a natural, uncontrived style.
