“People respond in a very similar way to this ad regardless of their age or gender. I think that’s hugely powerful and shows that a genuine human insight – that we can all relate to – brought to life though emotive and effective story telling connects with us all,” said Lynn Deason, head of creative excellence for the U.K. at Kantar.
What differentiates this ad is how enjoyable it is, she added, with a clear connection to the brand. “We don’t have to see ourselves, the story just has to resonate and be meaningful to us,” she said. “This isn’t just attention-grabbing, highly emotive and memorable storytelling. The brand plays an important role in the story.”
Andrew Tindall, global partnerships director for marketing platform System1, said the campaign was the culmination of six years of hard work as Amazon has been “building their advertising muscles.”
“It’s not only the most effective ad they’ve ever made, but also one of the most effective Christmas ads we’ve ever tested,” he said. “Why is this? Consistent brand strategy and brilliant creative execution.”
He cited Amazon’s commitment to making its packaging a distinctive brand asset and the hero of the “Joy Is Shared” campaign. “That makes the brand the hero in an emotional-right brain way,” Tindall added, noting that the ad earned a score of 5.9 stars in System1’s ratings platform, “the highest an ad can get for long-term effectiveness.”