Chevrolet Inspires Us With Light And Darkness In New Holiday Spot
Yesterday, I wrote about the wonderful holiday spot from Macy’s called “Hey, Santa” (click here to check that out). Broke down exactly why I love it creatively and strategically. And going to do the same thing below for another holiday gem. This time from Chevrolet. Let’s just say this one is quite memorable.
Chevrolet “A Holiday To Remember”
Creative rating: 🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻 (out of a possible 5 santas)
I’m going to start with a subtlety that I’m certain was intentional, but many may have missed. As the Grandpa and his daughter are talking in the kitchen about Gram having good and bad days and the little granddaughter is giving Gram a present, notice what happens to the sunlight on Gram’s face. She starts out in total shade (darkness?). The little girl drops a present in her lap and now we see a little sunlight hitting Gram’s face. And then when the older daughter takes matters into her own hands and tells Gram she’s taking her for a ride, Gram’s face is fully in the light. From darkness to light. A beautiful metaphor for Gram’s transition from bad day to good day.
But I wonder if this metaphor also represents the attitude of Gram’s family up to this point. Meaning, a transition from leaving Gram alone in another room and not knowing what to do with her (darkness) to this hopeful, loving older granddaughter who has an idea that might quite literally change Gram’s day. Did you notice when the granddaughter approaches Gram, she steps out of shadows and into the light herself.
In both cases, bad to good, darkness to light.
Carrying the “sun = good day” metaphor forward, we hear John Denver singing his famous, “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy…” throughout the rest of the spot. And the lyrics hit wonderfully in a few scenes. I’ll get to that.
The first sign of real hope is when the daughter tells Gram to put her seatbelt on and notices it’s already on. As the viewer, we are now a little relieved to see that but still leaning in to see just how good this day might be for Gram. The granddaughter is rewarded cosmically, it seems, when the old Chevrolet, the one Gram used to ride in with her husband, starts right up. The girl’s reaction suggests more magic is coming, and we lean in a bit more to see it.
There’s a beautiful moment after Gram is shown several familiar places in town when she begins singing along with the John Denver song. She sings, “Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry…” and she stops, as if suddenly aware of her awareness. Such a powerful moment and a credit to the actor for pulling it off with only facial expressions (see 3:39 in).
It’s at this exact moment, in fact, the creative tension is relieved. We know (the viewers) that Gram is back, if but for a moment. The trip is a success. We learn she kissed him. He was too shy. It’s just delightful. But the emotional payoff is just getting started.
We hit waterworks pay dirt in the next scene. Bill approaches the car with great trepidation powered by disbelief when the daughter brings Gram home and they’re in the driveway. Go back and watch Bill approach the car (4:12 in). Again, credit to the actor here for speaking volumes with his body movements.
And then he SEES her. I don’t mean sees her. I mean SEES her. The woman he married, the woman he loves, the woman he was too shy to kiss. Now, present day, notice who kisses who? Bill isn’t too shy this time around. His kiss is as joyous a kiss as you’ll see on film. Casablanca, eat your heart out.
Then, John Denver brings it all home (literally) when Gram enters the home and this time the family embraces her because they, too, see she’s back. As the older granddaughter looks on we hear Denver sing, “If I had a day that I could give you…I’d give to you a day just like today.”
Boy, did she. Darkness to light. Bad day to good day. Hopeless to hopeful.
Strategic rating: 🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻
Strategically this spot is equally brilliant because it celebrates Cheverolet’s long, glorious history, but as a subtle, secondary plot point. The brand did a similar thing two years ago with an elderly man longing for the old days in his old beat-up ‘68 Chevy, which his daughter fixes up for him (click here to see that one). Not every car brand has the storied history of Chevy, so they are smart not only to leverage it in an ad, but to leverage it in a holiday ad when people are primed to appreciate the past, traditions, family, etc.
But the choice to address dementia puts the finest of points on Chevy’s history. The spot is all about memory, memories, and, therefore, history. Elegantly tight.
Oh, and the fact this old Chevy starts right up is a nod to its durability, but that’s a much smaller point.
This spot from Chevrolet is more than a spot or an ad. It’s a gift to us all. A gift reminding us to appreciate how good we all have it, how dark it could be, and how, even when it’s dark, there’s always room for a little sunshine.
Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post like this.