UNITED KINGDOM – When Christmas comes around, so do the tearjerker ads, and the latest one from Sainsbury is no exception.
Produced by the supermarket chain’s ad agency, AMV BBDO and made in partnership by the Royal British Legion, the spot recreates a legendary Christmas ceasefire that happened in World War I, a hundred years ago.
In the film, British and German soldiers wait in the trenches on Christmas day, 1914. Soldiers on both sides sing ‘Silent Night’ in their own languages, and the song rises into the air, turning into one song.
In the tensest few seconds of the spot, a young British soldier rises from the trench, doffing his hat like a white flag. Guns are aimed but there is no fire, and slowly, both sides enjoy a football game for one glorious day under the sun. The young Tommy who started the truce is shown befriending a German soldier.
As history dictates, there isn’t exactly a happy ending in this ad, as the soldiers return to their own sides of the battlefield. However, in what is perhaps its most striking scene, the ad reveals the simple gifts that the young Tommy and his erstwhile friend have slipped into each others pockets during the truce.
While some have questioned the decency of using a war story for commercial gain – with The Guardian writer Ally Fogg even saying that the spot is disrespectful to those who fought in the war – the ad was on on the whole well-received by the general public.
View the spot here:
