Coca-Cola drops emotional, yet delightful Christmas ad

Directed by Oscar winner Taika Waititi, it’s just the sweet touch one needed during this festive season.

We feel sad and lonely when our loved ones aren’t with us, especially when the festive spirit is in the air and holidays are around the corner. If only we could all be together. Coca-Cola’s latest Christmas spot captures this feeling effortlessly and manages to make us shed a few tears too.

The ad is about a young girl who is unhappy to see her father leave for work (he works in an oil rig). Before he drives off, she gives him a letter addressed to Santa... but he misses the mail boat.

We then see him journey across oceans, rivers, mountains and snow to reach the North Pole; he can’t let his daughter’s letter go undelivered. And as he nears his destination, he’s in for heartbreak because a note on the door reads, ‘Closed for Christmas’.

He is clearly devastated, but then a set of lights fall on him - it’s the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck… He hitches a ride back home… and as he gets off the truck, the driver hands him his daughter’s letter. Still heartbroken, he opens the letter only to read, “Dear Santa, please bring daddy home for Christmas.” As the truck goes on its way, we get to see the face of the driver for the first time, and it’s Santa.

Poignant, yet delightful, Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi (of ‘Thor Ragnarok’ and ‘Jojo Rabbit’ fame) is behind the two-minute-30-second-long ad, while Wieden+Kennedy London is the creative force.

On YouTube, the ad’s description reads, “This Christmas, give something only you can give. Be it in person, over an awkward video call, or just a quick message, making time for the ones you love is what makes Christmas truly the most special time of year, no matter how you do it. Wherever you are, we hope you have a good one. Merry Christmas.”

Due to current restrictions around the country, our Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour won’t go ahead this year. We know it's disappointing, but we’ll continue to share special Christmas moments throughout the festive season. We look forward to seeing you next year! pic.twitter.com/VWza9Al3hm

— Coca-Cola GB (@CocaCola_GB) November 6, 2020

The ad comes at a time when the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour in the UK was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The tour is one of the most awaited aspects of Christmas. The red truck with the iconic imagery of Santa Claus drinking Coca-Cola, or holding the bottle by artist Haddon Sundblom, is a sign that the festive season has begun.

The trucks first appeared in the 1995 ad made by the agency W.B. Doner. Coca-Cola’s website says, “Known as ‘Christmas Caravans’, the illuminated lorries are made more enchanting with special effects by the world-famous Industrial Light and Magic, the company behind the ‘Star Wars’ films.”