At the start of the holiday season parents in the Netherlands start looking everywhere for that perfect Sinterklaas – the Dutch Santa Claus – gift for their children. The same period is a media frenzy, with high budget holiday ads that try to tug on their heartstrings and get parents to spend their cash.
To stand out in the sea of tearjerkers of their biggest competitors, Dutch retailer bol.com took a fresh approach to their holiday ad. Staying true to its no-nonsense brand personality.
The stereotype-defying story of Felix
The film is about bol.com’s ‘Wish-List-Poster’ that helps children tell Sinterklaas what they most want as a gift. In the film we follow a cinematic story about a young boy who is longing for the perfect Sinterklaasgift, a doll. When he receives a football instead, he makes the best of the situation and dresses the ball up – as a doll. The two become best friends, until – with the help of the Wish-List-Poster, the boy gets what he has been hoping for.
Our humorous twist trumped all competition
At first the film appears to be another one of ‘those’ holiday ads that check all the boxes: cute kid, a non-human friend, a heartwarming montage of the two bonding before a bittersweet goodbye. But against expectations the film ends in a twist that every parent out there will recognise. Ending with a laugh and going against the grain of the tear jerking ads of its competitors.
The film was loved all over the world
- “A great spin on the Christmas commercial genre beloved of brands like John Lewis.”
- – AdAge
- “The freshest approach to Holiday ads this year.”
- – Campaign Magazine
- “Bol.com’s Ad Flies in the Face of Heartwarming Christmas Tropes.“
- – Adweek
- “This expectation-smashing, gender-shunning concept is an early subversive Christmas present.“
- – Shots.net
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