• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, November 5, 2023

Amazon has built quite the reputation for hanky-worthy holiday ads. And the launch of “Joy Ride” fits right in, celebrating three devoted old friends using a classic Beatles tune.

At first, the great-grandmotherly trio seem so wistful they’re almost sad, watching kids sled down a snowy hill. With a sly smile, one of them orders holiday gifts: orthopedic seat cushions. While her friends are initially baffled, they soon swoop downhill, recapturing their long-ago glee.

It's challenging and humbling because the team always tries to top previous efforts, says Claudine Cheever, vice president of global marketing at Amazon. Previous ads include the weepy 2020 “The Show Must Go On,” about the COVID-cancelled performance of a young ballerina; “Kindness, the Greatest Gift,” the 2021 tearjerker about a lonely young woman; or last year’s “Joy is Made,” starring a snow-globe-obsessed little girl.

“We kick off in the first half of the year with learnings from our past campaigns,” she tells Marketing Daily via email, focusing first on Amazon’s brand promise to make people’s lives a little easier and better and second, by asking how people are feeling right now.

“This year’s campaign is rooted in a single insight that even in times of economic uncertainty when people are mindful of how much they’re spending, it’s the thoughtful and meaningful ways we can share the joy that matters most,” she says.

And while the team sometimes starts with a song in mind, “this fell into place during the edit. As we worked with awesome ladies who make up our hero cast, the story's tone started to shift into one about deep love, friendship, and a kindred longing for times gone by.”

The instrumental version of “In My Life” just worked “so well” with the final edit, she says.

Both 30-second and 60-second versions are breaking now in Europe and the U.K. and are scheduled to begin airing in the U.S. and Canada later this month. They’ll appear on broadcast TV, cinema, streaming and online video, and social-media channels.

Amazon’s team created the ad, working with the production company Hungry Man and director Wayne McClammy.

“Joy Ride” is part of the year’s more extensive “Joy is shared” campaign, which includes three other ads promoting critical sales periods.