Coca-Cola’s Holiday Film Spotlights The Sweet Origins Of A Cardboard Chimney
Video screenshot via Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola might be enjoyed all year, but it’s during Christmas that it truly comes alive. This year, though, the company has dialed back on the usual tropes of Coca-Cola branding and the famous truck, and has shifted its attention to the spirit of community.
Santa Claus might not be the star in the Coca-Cola campaign this time around, but he’s taking the spotlight in the form of personalized videos on the Cameo platform for the first time.
The film, produced by creative agency DentsuMB UK, starts out looking pretty bleak. The mood is somber, isolating even, as a young boy and his mother move into their new home. They pass by the open door of a lonesome neighbor, who peers at them with trepidation.
The scene starts to turn around as the boy watches a cartoon depicting Santa Claus squeezing a present down a chimney. The young protagonist stares longingly at a wall, where the fireplace should be, and a glance at a stack of cardboard boxes from the moving process gives him an epiphany.
His idea of a cardboard chimney sparks a movement reminiscent of the tale of Stone Soup, as the boy’s neighbors gather to help build it. The chimney expands with their help, and instead of being connected to one home, it intertwines with several more.
Not forgetting the solitary neighbor from earlier, who wasn’t involved in the joint effort, the boy sends her a gift via this community chimney as well as invites her to the neighborhood’s Christmas feast. The words, “Christmas is magic when we share it,” flash on screen.
The commercial is soundtracked in a fantastic, apt arrangement of music from a certain magical film.
The Chimney spot, under Coca-Cola’s global Real magic brand platform, will appear in over 90 markets.
[via Campaign, video and cover image via Coca-Cola]
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