• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, November 13, 2022

For all the ad watchers who live for seasonal schmaltz (guilty!), new creative from retailers -- especially Amazon and the U.K.’s John Lewis -- is usually worth the wait.

And that’s certainly true this year. Amazon is breaking a sweet saga of a dad building a people-sized snow globe for his young daughter.

And while John Lewis’s new work, called “The Beginner,” also includes a tear-inducing appearance of a young girl, people may get even mistier watching the dedicated dad risking life and limb.

Amazon’s spot kicks off its “Joy is made” campaign. It tells the story–a long one, at more than two minutes–of a dad who enlists plenty of help to turn a backyard greenhouse into a magical moment. After borrowing fans from neighbors, a paper shredder ordered from Amazon brings it all to life. (Snow globes, by the way, are having a marketing moment. Etsy’s new seasonal ads also center on their powerful pull.)

Academy Award-winning director Taika ("Jojo Rabbit," "Thor: Ragnarok") Waititi made the spot, with agency Lucky Generals.

John Lewis’s ad is a departure, even for the retailer that aims to do something different every year. (Some of us will never admit how many times we’ve viewed its 2016 Buster-the-Boxer ad.)

Like all of the retailers’ storied Christmas ads, “The Beginner” has a surprise ending. Viewers get the satisfaction of watching the middle-aged, not-so-athletic man flail, fall and stumble on the skateboard with the dogged determination of “The Karate Kid.”

But it’s not clear why he’s doing it until the doorbell rings, and he and his wife welcome a young girl from foster care. Ellie enters the scene, carrying her own skateboard.

The retailer says the ad is an ode to the 108,000 kids in the U.K.’s care system. Besides building awareness of their loneliness, it asks for donations to the retailer’s Building Happier Future funds.

Working in partnership with Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland and Action for Children, it’s also driving viewers to more specific ways they can help.

Adam & Eve/DDB is the ad agency. It’s set to a version of “All the Small Things” by Blink-182.

“We’d advise getting your tissues ready,” the brand says in its announcement. Indeed.