Let’s face it: it’s Christmas and you want a good cry. Not the, “holy hell, it’s the seventh sign of the apocalypse” sob-fest; more like the cathartic tears that come from watching a military reunion video, or a kid asking his weepy stepdad to adopt him. You know, a commercial that will restore your faith in humanity, as singularly effective commercials do.
What makes an absolute banger of a Christmas commercial? Cloying emotions or a winking sense of humor? A Christmas saved from utter ruin or one that telegraphs peak holiday vibes, down to the powdery snowfall and homemade hot cocoa? Does it have to make you want to buy the product it’s pitching–or make you forget altogether that it’s pitching one?
We’ve watched them all: from the WASP-y classic “Peter Comes Home!” (Folger’s 1985), to “Melting Snowman” (Campbell’s Soup, 1993), starring a kinda-sorta creepy animatronic snowman who drips his way to boyhood while slurping down a hot bowl of chicken noodle, to find the ultimate in two minutes-or-less holiday cheer. The winner is the absolute apotheosis of a winning Christmas ad: sentimental without being maudlin; amusing without resorting to slapstick; wistful without feeling ridiculous. And spoiler alert: it never aired in America.
Dubbed “Unforgettable Christmas,” the 2018 commercial from French mobile phone company Bouyges Telecom is the ultimate holiday chestnut, even five years later. Nothing comes close. It checks all the boxes: nostalgia, family, holiday cheer, and its secret ingredient: a whiff of reconciliation, of a fractured relationship healed.
The Bouyges commercial is the perfect antidote to what’s become a mainstay of holiday TV programming: dysfunctional family gatherings. For every Hallmark movie spinning romance under the mistletoe, there’s a “Fishes,” The Bear’s Season 2 mindfuck intent on reminding you that your family isn’t nearly as damaged as you think they are. (Did your mom drive her car through the living room? No? Then sit down.) And just to make sure you show up for Christmas dinner with a bonafide smile on your face, the Bouyges advert sets out to recast your dad as the misunderstood, tragic figure he is. So what if you hate his jokes, his politics, or the dreams he himself wanted but projected on you, here comes a $13 billion telecom to remind you that, through it all, he loved you more than he could ever put to words.
So he let Redbone do it. Every time he hears the familiar bass of their ’70s hit “Come and Get Your Love,” there he is with his awkward overbite and oafish two-step, the Elaine Bennis of Montmartre. There’s something indescribably moving about seeing our parents, the ones who drive us batshit crazy for most of the year with their embarrassing antics and loutish impositions, reframed as well-meaning and deeply, deeply loving. Nothing corrects a lifetime of therapy quite like a good Christmas commercial.
Sadly, this quirky, ultra-specific genre is fast becoming an anachronism as more viewers opt for ad-free viewing. For the rest of the year, I don’t miss commercials a lick, not even for a second. Not even on Super Bowl Sunday. But give me an oversized bow on a gleaming Chevy Blazer and a snowy gathering of old friends over Doritos and Mountain Dew, and a rakish Santa using his Capital One card to spread some sparkle on a town full of grinches, and I am yours forever.