Amazon’s festive campaign is focused on the fact that Christmas is a time for sharing joy. The campaign features three life-long friends enjoying Christmas underlining the fact that festive fun does not come with an age limit. The campaign underlines the joy of the age-old Christmas tradition of gift giving, by highlighting the impact of a thoughtful present.

The short film is titled ‘Joy Ride’ and stars three older women - a demographic often overlooked in the advertising world. As a result of a thoughtful gift, the three become reinvigorated by nostalgia. Amazon’s internal creative team crafted the campaign, with production from Hungry Man. Award-winning director, Wayne McClammy, directed the 60-second film.

‘Joy Ride’ opens with three older women sitting on a bench watching people enjoying the snow. Two of the three seem sad not to be sledging with everyone else. The third friend, however, is inspired by people-watching. She goes to Amazon and adds a seat cushion to her cart. With a knowing smile she looks at her friends who are still watching the fun on the snowy hill.

Later on, the Amazon order arrives and the next day, the lady surprises her two friends with a thoughtful gift. At first confused, the friends follow the gift-giver to the top of the hill. There, three snow sledges are sitting in wait for the addition of the brand new seat cushions.

Kitted out in helmets, the friends nod to each other before setting off. The film follows their joyous trip down the hill, where nostalgia hits. The campaign flashes back to when the three were children, doing the same thing. With smiles on their faces, they land at the bottom of the hill, from where they begin walking back up to do it all again. Then the festive tagline appears: ‘joy is shared’.

The film is a love letter to friendship and joyful memories. It aims to embrace nostalgia, in a way that empowers the present and doesn’t yearn for the past. Maya Waterman, who plays the lead character, explained: “Nostalgia in older age can often be framed as something overly sentimental that you yearn for, so I feel immensely proud that we were able to flip that narrative on its head and tell a story of three women, who don’t just relive memories, but make new ones. I hope audiences of all ages relate to that feeling of shared joy”.

At the same time, the ad flips another well-known narrative on its head. As Waterman’s co-star, Annie O’Donnell, aptly explains: “At our age, it’s not uncommon to be typecast. And, while I will happily play the role of someone’s sweet grandmother, it is always exciting to be able to show a different side. An opportunity to shake off preconceptions and show we are not just ‘young at heart’ but still throwing ourselves into life”.

Set to a cover of ‘In My Life’ by The Beatles, the hero film celebrates shared moments of joy. The track is one of the band’s most loved songs and is about lasting friendships and memories. Developed exclusively for the campaign, the cover was produced with the help of a 40-piece orchestra and recorded live in Prague.

The campaign will run across broadcast TV, video on demand, and online video, with social activations.

With gift-giving such an integral aspect of the festive season, the online retailer emphasises how presents can be a chance to share joy. By shunning stereotyped narratives, the Christmas campaign reminds consumers that fun doesn’t stop at a certain age. Thoughtful gifts are a great way to keep sharing joy and making new memories.