Hey, “Greg,” any idea why I didn’t get the Lear Jet and ponies I asked for?

Next, we find Ryan in fine, foul-mouthed form: 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Mint Mobile (@mintmobile)

RR’s more naughty than nice in that one.

Still, the work touts the availability of all Mint plans for $15 a month. So, the holiday spirit snarks on!

Maximum Effort developed the campaign.

1. Capital One, ‘Holiday Night Fever’

Travolta boogies like it’s 1977 as a disco-dancin’ Kringle.

2. Coca-Cola, ‘The World Needs More Santas’

There’s a city full of Saint Nicks in this surprising scenario.

3. John Lewis, ‘The Perfect Tree’

An unexpected touch of horror-comedy from the U.K. retailer.

And here are the rest of our contenders in alphabetical order…

Amazon, ‘Joy Ride’

The Beatles’ timeless “In My Life” propels a sweet sledding story.

Apple, ‘Fuzzy Feelings’

A heartwarming tale with stop-motion animation and a George Harrison track.

Burger King, ‘Driving Home for Christmas’

Tunefully guiding motorists to 21 drive-thru locations in the U.K.

Etsy, ‘Your Mission’

Who needs carols? Let’s sing the Mission: Impossible earworm instead.

Kroger, ‘Cuisine Exchange’

The brand’s Krojis return—and every picture tells a story.

Tesco, ‘Become More Christmas’

Dad turns into a tree—but that’s just the start

Tui, ‘Happy Holidays’

Santa’s helpers get up to mischief as they take some time off post-Xmas.

Walmart, ‘Add to Heart’

With a meet-cute, a love triangle and Meg Stalter.

San Rafael, ‘Together, We Make Christmas More Special’

BBDO Mexico brings us this touching campaign featuring a dinner where family members each give a somewhat odd toast to Julieta. What the heck is going on?

Wavemaker, ‘Delivering Christmas for Australia’

Saint Nick frets that most Australian homes don’t have chimneys. So … he decides to go to work for Australian Post? Find out what he learns and laugh along the way.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro, ‘Live Every Moment, All Year Round’

What do you do when Turino receives record snowfall and you really really want a beer? Cheered on by his neighbors, Nino grabs a shovel and starts digging his way to the local pub in a spot by Clockwork.

Woolworths, ‘Woolworths Christmas 2023’

Children gather from far and wide for a “Pride of the Regions” celebration. When one little girl loses her costume, the others come up with a solution so she can still be part of the show. Dentsu led creative development.

Deutsche Telekom, ‘Questions That Matter Connect Us More’

MUW Saatchi & Saatchi shows how many of us face unpleasant questions from our loved ones during holidays. But this Christmas, let’s ask only the questions that really matter because true connection is the most beautiful gift.

“Move to a Better Christmas,” by McCann for Ikea Spain, depicts a family organizing a complex, multilingual holiday schedule that feels like a cross between the Met Gala’s seating chart and a royal wedding. It’s not fun to watch, and that’s the point. “What if less Christmas was more Christmas?” the work wonders. It stems from the insight that 50 percent of Spaniards feel stressed about yuletide planning.

To promote its Double and Triple Burgers, McDonald’s and DDB in Romania partnered with standup comedian Mihai Bobonete to make “Whispered Temptation.” A guy realizes more is, well, more thanks to McD’s Doubles and Triples, so he tries applying this knowledge to other parts of his life. Why not ask for double the salary? Things don’t go as well as hoped.

More McD’s here, this time from Nord DDB. The brand promoted its McDelivery service in Norway by creating outdoor ads featuring takeaway paper bags hand-cut into classic Norwegian apartment building styles.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, Nord DDB Stockholm has given McDonald’s Big Mac an autograph. The entire history of robotics and AI has led us here—to a hamburger that can sign things, and whose signature was informed by 256,000 fans. So glad we were alive for this.

In France, insurance brand Axa and Publicis Conseil depict police dogs and other emergency workers relaxing on the outskirts of a feasting world. In one instance, a firefighter hears an alarm and runs … for his baked goods. The ad closes with a man who unplugs his Christmas lights before watering his illuminated tree. All this is to say, staying safe is the best gift you can offer on-call workers. (This also means pointing the champagne away from you, and others, when opening it. Seriously. That’s how a lot of New Years emergency room visits start.)

More lotto love, this time from the Dutch State Lottery. Created by TBWANeboko, “Believe In Luck” follows a fellow who quantum-leaps through a future with a woman he hasn’t met. Things end with one of fortune’s fave tricks: He buys a lotto ticket, then is jostled by … well, you know. The ticket flies out of his hand and in the opposite direction, leaving him with a choice to make: Love or riches? Both are only potentials. What’ll you gamble for?

A googly-eyed Rembrandt portrait, measuring 286m2, has gone up in London to promote the London Mural Festival. The latter’s happening in August next year, and the mural—where modern insouciance meets the historical, much like the very art of paintng on old walls—was hand-crafted by Global Street Art, which reinvests profits into community initiatives. For the 2020 London Mural Festival, and in the midst of Covid, the ad firm produced murals by over 200 artists, across 75 different sites in 13 London boroughs.

This isn’t technically European. It’s by Wieden+Kennedy São Paulo for Sea Shepherd Brazil. The music video was produced by Fromm, a British studio, which … okay, is also not European. But wait! Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren is Belgian, and he’s involved, so we’re allowing it. Guess what this is? It’s a heavy metal band, created to raise awareness about heavy metal contamination in the sea.

You can’t work in advertising if you’re not a sucker for the occasional pun. Plus, this video is so distressingly, toxically, glamrockishly pretty, it’s irresistible. 

Happy holidays, all. See you on the other side. We wish you so much beauty.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, The Danish Girl) takes viewers on a heartwarming cinematic adventure that could only happen in New York City with “There’s Magic in All of Us.”

Produced by Smuggler for agency Alto and the Montefiore Einstein hospital system, the short film centers on a boy named Solo. He’s living with a neurological condition and uses eye-tracking technology to create art and express himself. 

We witness a magical dream in which Solo becomes a pilot. He soars above the Big Apple at Christmastime in a dachshund-shaped hot air balloon, rescuing his younger brother from a snowball fight.

Here, Hooper and Hannes Ciatti, chief creative officer and founder of Alto, talk about the making of “There’s Magic in All of Us.”

MUSE: Tell us about the boys who play the two brothers in the film. 

Hannes Ciatti: It was crucial to cast a child who genuinely uses eye-gaze technology to communicate with the world. When we found the extraordinary Solo, who lives locally in Queens, for this very New York story, we couldn’t believe it. Solo was remarkable for the way in which he transcends his condition [cerebral palsy]. His mom is absolutely tireless in her support of him and creates such a happy atmosphere. The story [in the film] is inspired by his relationship with his brother. But due to many factors, including the brother’s age, we cast another great child to portray him.

Tom Hooper: Ayon, the actor who plays his younger brother, came out of a more traditional casting process, but one that embraces kids who hadn’t acted before. I was amazed that Ayon was so gifted in front of the camera.

Tom, how did you work with the boys to coax joy, laughter and awe out of them?

Hooper: Perhaps our best decision at script stage turned out to be the introduction of the character of Solo’s younger brother. Solo lit up when he was acting with Ayon, who got Solo to share that amazing smile. Our story was about the power of brotherly companionship, and the bond that grew between Solo and Ayon was testament to that power. When Solo starts his journey through the city before finding his brother, the first AD and I tried a variety of ways to get Solo to share his joyful reactions—one even involved me up a ladder dancing to Cardi B on my iPhone. Ayon was a lot more successful, I hasten to add.

I live in and love NYC and enjoyed seeing the kids floating around landmarks and stopping by the gas station I know well on the East River.

Hooper: I am a great lover of NYC, too. I first came when I was 10 in the 1980s and still vividly remember Manhattan before all the changes. Hannes and I talked from the beginning about featuring an older New York, one that has a nostalgia to it, a magic to it. That’s why it was important that we shot in Central Park, where the verticality of the buildings through the winter foliage is so specific to Manhattan and helps create an almost retro sci-fi feel to the dachshund’s landing at night. And at 6th Ave., the scale and majesty is unbeatable.

I enjoyed featuring favorite buildings like the Alwyn at 58th and 7th, where the dachshund and poodle meet. And I like using Manhattan’s water-bound topography, which is why I chose that gas station on 23rd at the river. When you are flying above Manhattan, you can be back out over the water in seconds. Gay Street in the West Village, where Solo lives in the film, was suggested by my brilliant production designer Ethan Tobman. It’s where he first lived in NYC, and has an unusual intimate scale. It’s so perfect. It feels like a backlot set.

Were you conscious of striking a balance between presenting a useful demonstration of the eye-tracking technology and the dream sequence?

Ciatti: Absolutely. The story behind the film started with the power of this technology, so we wanted to help ensure that people were able to see it in action. About 4 million people in the U.S. face challenges with their ability to speak, and only an estimated 2 percent have access to necessary communication aids. This campaign strives to raise that number and shine a light on amazing kids like Solo and what’s possible. At Montefiore Einstein, neurologists pioneered the use of eye-tracking technology to transform communication with these patients. The fine line we walked was ensuring that viewers understand that Solo is creating art with his eyes, which then influences his dream and helps him ultimately become closer to his brother and be his superhero.

How did you work with composer Alexandre Desplat [who collaborated with Hooper on The King’s Speech and has won Oscars for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water] to create the film’s score?

Hooper: I waited until I had shot and cut the film before I sent it to Alexandre. He’s always so busy—I knew the only way to persuade him was if the film did the talking. Luckily, he thought it was beautiful. The main thing I asked him was to create a moving score that caught the anguish of Solo not being close to his brother, but also captured how Solo is lit up by his creative journey. 

Then there’s this huge contrast as we come into the dream sequence… and a return to reality with an emotional ending revealing how the brothers are brought closer through Solo’s art and a magical gift from his dream world.

Alexandre did a genius score that caught the fragile hope of art with the flute theme at the beginning, accompanied by the lonely cello during the brothers’ failure to connect. Then there’s the incredible energy of the dream sequence, with its nostalgic New York/Leonard Bernstein allusions and epic melodies that elevate the kids’ hide-and-seek. And we return to the moving flute for the brothers’ reunion at the end. 

CREDITS

CLIENT
Montefiore-Einstein
Chief Marketing Officer: Loreen Babcock, SVP

AGENCY
Alto New York
Chief Creative Officer, Founder: Hannes Ciatti
Managing Partner, Entertainment + Production: Matt Bonin
Managing Partner: Ed Rogers
Head of Strategy, Partner: Tara Fray
Executive Creative Director, Partner: Dan Kroeger
Executive Creative Director, Partner: Pierre Janneau
Creative Director: Antony Goldstein
Creative Director: Chris Groom
Executive Producer, Film: Ben Berkon
Executive Producer, Film: Mark Johnston
Group Brand Director: Megan Bowen
Senior Brand Director: Tom Gibson
Art Director: Filipe Nogueira

PRODUCTION COMPANY
Smuggler
Director: Tom Hooper
Executive Producers: Patrick Milling-Smith/Brian Carmody
Managing Director/Executive Producer: Sue Yeon Ahn
Head of Production: Alex Hughes 
Producer: Mary Livingston
Production Supervisor: Jonathan Mayo
Commercial Coordinators: Troy Cribbin/Jennifer Beliard
1st AD: Peter Jackson
Director of Photography: Steven Annis
Production Designer: Ethan Tobman
Casting Director: Katherine Foronjy of Vitamin Enriched
Costume Designer: Lee Ann Jarvis

MUSIC
Composer: Alexandre Desplat

EDITORIAL
Final Cut
Editor: Jim Helton
Assistant Editor: Alyce Muhammad
Executive Producer: Sarah Roebuck
Senior Producer: Wade Weliever

POST / VISUAL FX
The Mill
Creative Director: Matt Fuller
Managing Director, Executive Producer: Angela Lupo
Senior Producer: Ed Rilli

COLOR GRADE 
Company 3
Colorist: Sofie Friis Borup
Producer: Shannen Troup

SOUND DESIGN AND MIX
Barking Owl
Executive Producer: Ashley Benton
Sound Design: Gus Koven
Mix Engineer: Matt Keith

MEDIA
TruForm Media Group

In jaw-dropping news, courtesy of Miller Lite, wooden nutcrackers have expanded their talents to open beer cans or bottles! A follow-up to the brand’s Christmas Tree Keg Stands last year, the Beercracker dons a pilsner foam cape, beer barley boots and hop-leaf buttons. The little guy opens beverages from its mouth (bottle) or removable hat (can).

A few hundred Beercrackers, at $29.95 a piece, sold out. But perhaps Miller Lite will add them to their permanent holiday swag options, like it did for the Beernament.

“When you think about your holiday party, you don’t want to be looking around for a bottle or can opener when it’s time to crack open a fresh beer during the traditional holiday hubbub,” says Anne Pando, senior marketing manager for Miller Lite. “But with the Beercracker, you won’t ever lose track of it because your opener is now proudly on display.”

Miller High Life’s Merry High Light

Miller High Life has previously bestowed upon fans Gingerbread Dive Bars and Beer Leg Lamps during the holiday season. This year, the brand, with help from Phaedon, brings us the Merry High Light. It’s a tiny, glowing tree that smells like your favorite dive bar: tobacco, sweat and poor decisions. There’s even a tree skirt that matches the Girl in the Moon’s striped attire. If miniature isn’t your thing, enter by 12/15 to win a 5-foot tree instead.

Voodoo Ranger’s World’s Strongest Can

Voodoo Ranger is known for its strong IPAs. But strong cans, hm, that’s a new one. The brand, Opinionated and sculptor Scott Foster made a can so strong that it earned the seal of approval from Mitchell Hooper, the World’s Strongest Man. The can weighs 14 pounds is 8.5 inches tall, fortified by half an inch of steel, and contains 19.2 oz of Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA.

Videos on strongestcanofipa.com illustrate how indestructible the can appears. It absorbs some damage from a hydraulic press and a flamethrower, but remains intact. Via the website, fans can enter to win the can by sharing how they’ll try to destroy it.

“This is one of those projects that was blissfully straightforward,” says Cameron Soane, ACD/art director at Opinionated. “We had a pun. We had a goal for making it a social-first campaign. We just needed to fabricate a seriously scary-strong can.”

Blue Moon Beer x PopUp Bagels

Beer bagels arrive, thanks to Blue Moon and PopUp Bagels. If you’ve tried the brew, you know a pint typically comes with an orange slice on the side. Muse got its mitts on some fresh, hot beer bagels—and we were intrigued by the Valencia cream cheese that came with our order.

The schmear was slightly citrusy and flavorful … kind of like a pint of Blue Moon. The collab sold out faster than you can spell V-a-l-e-n-c-i-a. Lindsey Wesloski, brand manager says, “a bagel made with Blue Moon was the perfect way to align your favorite foods in an elevated way—and to drive Blue Moon relevancy amongst a culinary-forward audience and beyond.”

Yeastie Boys x I Am Hope

Two disheartening facts: Most men receive their first bouquet of flowers at their funeral. THEIR FUNERAL. And New Zealand has one of the highest rates of male suicide in the world.

Yeastie Boys, the best named brewery in New Zealand (and possibly the world) teamed up with VML to create the “Blokequet”—beer brewed with earl grey blue flower—for men to share with their guy friends. Hopefully, a few sips will open a portal to talk about their feelings. The Blokequet is sold at various bars and liquor stores, and it’s even available in a traditional bouquet-style arrangement—but with beer. For every can sold, a donation is made to the I Am Hope foundation.

“The reality is, most men in New Zealand socialize over a beer,” says Mike King, founder of I Am Hope. “That’s when they will really connect and talk with each other, so it’s a really big opportunity for us to start encouraging those kōrero [conversations] to include mental health. And it doesn’t have to be a really serious talk. It can be as simple as asking your mate if they’re OK.”

Craft Sportswear x Billdale Brewery

Swedish running brand Craft Sportswear teamed up with Forsman & Bodenfors and Billdale Brewery to create a beer best suitable for runners—post-run, natch. Aptly named Craft Beer, the lager made its debut after the UTMB race in Chamonix and contains extra B vitamins, minerals and fiber. 10,000 units of Craft beer were produced and distributed for free after events where Craft Sportswear has a presence.

“Craft was launching their most advanced trail running shoe during the UTMB race,” says Karl Risenfors, art director at F&B. “We wanted to create something that would create a bit of extra buzz (no pun intended) around the brand. In the running community, the post-run beer is a well established ritual, so we decided to create the ultimate post-run beer by adding all the vitamins, minerals and nutrition your body needs.”

Kona Big Wave’s ‘Bring the Aloha’

There’s often drama when shooting a curl, and Kona Big Wave wants to dispel this bad rep and bring surfers together. Brand spokesperson and pro-surfer Hunter Jones invited surfers with varying experiences to the Aloha Bench to sit, drink a cold one and talk frankly about what happens in open water. By the end of the 3:30 below, locals, newbies and lifelong surfers are on the same wave…length.

In 2011, hearts melted over John Lewis’ “The Long Wait.” Turns out a little boy’s impatience for the holidays to arrive stemmed from his desire to give presents, rather than receive.

Since then, Christmas commercials, especially in Britain, have become a highly anticipated fixture of the festive calendar. Such ads have evolved into cultural touchstones.

Although Coca-Cola’s “The Holidays Are Coming” from 1995 was arguably the first famous Christmas advert, “The Long Wait” provided an impetus for brands to pour time and budgets into making their yuletide messages more memorable. In 2023, the Advertising Association and Warc calculated that marketers will spend nearly $12 billion in the U.K. alone for the festive season, up 4.8 percent from last year.

These campaigns have redefined advertising calendars, but the pressure to get it right is immense. Brands that get it wrong risk alienating viewers as well as current and potential customers.

How can they avoid missing the mark? What will ensure they bring people cheer?

Festive failure

An obvious example this year is Marks & Spencer’s, which inadvertently sparked controversy with a now-removed shot of burning party hats that appeared to be the colors of the Palestinian flag. While M&S made this campaign months ago, unaware of where global events were headed, its travails demonstrate the power of symbols, which should never be underestimated.

However, beyond this unfortunate moment, the M&S advert has received criticism elsewhere. Its call for viewers to “do only what you love”—with shots of celebrities torching Christmas cards and punting Elf on the Shelf into the sky—is unusually gutsy for a holiday advert. It’s a fun, refreshing approach, but not necessarily one that people want to hear, and many viewers have expressed their distaste.

So, what happened? The problem for M&S is that Christmas is laden with ritual and tradition. That’s actually what people love about it, particularly in 2023, after years of depressing news and Covid. Brands like M&S spend a great deal of time understanding their audience, but the problem often lies in the execution of those insights.

Implementing audience understanding

Behavioral science is an important tool that can provide brands with in-depth understanding and ensure their adverts resonate with what customers are really thinking (not just what brands think they want).

Take Amazon’s 2023 ad for example. Some have criticized its on-the-nose “old ladies sledding” as too saccharine, but consumers are mostly fans. Christmas traditions and nostalgia are the warm hugs people seek at the end of the year, even if some marketers are afraid of leaning into such tropes.

What Amazon and M&S both recognized is that not everyone experiences the “happy family around the table” at Christmas. Yet, the reason Amazon’s ad resonates is that it nods to other elements of the winter period—such as playing in the snow—tapping into those magic moments. This roots the campaign in “the fun things we do with the people we love,” cleverly associating that vibe with its logo shaped as a smile.

Brands falter when there is a disconnect from the emotional pulse of their audience. At Christmas, people want to be cheered up. John Lewis’ marketing director recently said that every year the aim of their advert is to bring “a bit more joy.” Underneath it all, that’s what viewers are looking for.

Unwrapping emotions

This is where an understanding of behavioral science is helpful. We know emotions play a significant role in decision making, so Christmas adverts that evoke strong responses—joy, nostalgia, warmth—are the perfect opportunity to help viewers connect with the brand. The season provides an opportunity to dial up those emotional triggers and make ads more memorable.

Similarly, behavioral science gives us an understanding of “social norming.” For Christmas ads, this means tapping into traditions, family gatherings and the spirit of giving. Ads with a little twist and a sense of humor perform best. Tesco has been widely praised for capturing the trope of the overzealous festive family member, transforming it into a light-hearted yet touching viewing experience.

Tesco also does well with nostalgia, and in ’23 it used OMC’s “How Bizarre” as a soundtrack. This tactic is successfully employed by multiple brands this year, including Apple (with George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity”), Waitrose (Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough”) and Amazon (featuring the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life’).

Behavioral science is about understanding people’s psychological state, which is especially vital at Christmas. At their core, festive spots are best when they focus on eliciting a feeling, rather than selling a product. Yes, ultimately brands stoke sales, but the holidays are better for building connection and trust.

It can be a fine line, but the rewards for getting a Christmas campaign right are massive and lasting. For those that get it wrong, it’s a bit like working hard all year and then losing control at the holiday party: you undo all that goodwill you built. A brand can be on the money all year, but if the Xmas advert lands badly, that’s what everyone will remember.

“This campaign started with one simple idea: What if Santa wanted an alternative to cookies?” says Jess Spaulding, CMO at Frito-Lay parent PepsiCo Foods Canada. “That inspired us to think creatively about how Santa could speak for every Canadian who finds themselves wishing for a bowl of chips over the traditionally sweet holiday season.”

Agency CCO Mike Dubrick says the work positions the brand as “challenging convention.” Take that, toll house fans!

The push kicked off with cheeky letters in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun and Montreal Gazette last week. The :60 drops shortly thereafter.

Lay’s work around the world has been especially crisp of late, notably soccer-themed ads starring Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry.

For this yuletide change of pace, Mark Zibert directed through Scouts Honor. Online studio Tantrum crafted the cookie-explosion dream sequence.

Outback Steakhouse’s omniscient Koala rewards niceness. But if you’re naughty, he still might cut you some slack.

The cute-but-creepy critter debuts in “Koala on the Walla,” riffing on absolutely no yuletide meme ever.

Mischief developed the campaign, which celebrates “Steakmas.” We’re told that’s a “long-standing Australian holiday,” and the plushie Koala monitors our every move, deciding who merits meaty morsels for dinner.

He’ll jingle-jangle your nerves in this tuneful tale:

“He sees when you’ve been bad
He sees when you’ve been good
He knows when you don’t behave
Exactly as you should.
He knows all of your secrets
Every rule that you’ve defied
He sees those unpaid parking tickets
You thought that you could hide.”

It gets worse:

“Nothing gets past him
He’s watching all the time
He knows what’s in your garbage
Is borderline a crime.
He rifles through your sock drawer
He’s underneath your bed
He knows about the bank accounts
You’re hiding from the Feds.”

But never fear:

“He witnesses a lot
You haven’t been so great
But this year he says everyone
Deserves a little steak.”

The spot backs a beefed-up holiday menu, and Outback will give away 1,000 custom-made toy Koalas. Just follow the brand on Facebook or Instagram, like a special post and complete an entry form by Dec. 15.

Mischief’s been all about the wildlife this year. Walla Koala’s just the latest addition to the marketing menagerie. As you might recall, rabbits, chickens and foxes repped clients Tubi, Fanduel and Eos, respectively.

Cute, but not too cute, absurd and edgy, these campaigns slice through commercial predictability (like sharp knives though filet mignon, if you wish.) They’re silly but sharable, offering tasty treats amid adland’s often bland repast.

 Pete Marquis directed the Koala video through Strike Anywhere Films.

In Aldi France’s “Christmas Before Christmas,” TBWAParis gives us a Santa we’ve never seen. He doesn’t live in a palace with elves, perpetually catering to the fantasies of children. This guy has a chic winter home, plays vinyls and doesn’t think about work off the clock. In this tale, he pulls a classic freelancer move, delivering gifts a day early so he can throw a Christmas Eve dinner bash (with ingredients sourced at Aldi). This story continues the brand’s modernized fairy tale vibe and reinforces its “fresh local produce” focus.

For the city of Hamburg, Jung von Matt Sports leveraged live team grouping draws for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament. (Hamburg is among 10 cities where matches will be held in Germany, the host nation, next year.) Using huge shipping containers, the agency set up a 40-foot-high installation, dubbed “The Final Draw,” that replicated the actual draw in real-time. This required 25 containers, 12 forklifts and 70 port workers to accomplish. It was simulcast at Elbe Philharmonic Hall, and kicked off a larger campaign titled “Hamburg. Great Things Start Here.”

French NGO Terre de Liens depicts a woman living in a space shuttle, eating holographic food. It ends with her finding terra nova: The land we’re still on. Created by agency Strike, “Come Back Down to Earth” is designed to make the world of agriculture more appealing. In France, 200 farms vanish weekly, and 50,000 hectares of fertile land are paved over each year. One in three farmers will retire in 10 years without replacements. The ad marks 20 years of agricultural preservation for Terre de Liens, and arrives in the lee of a new law dubbed PLOAA, designed to trigger generational renewal in agriculture, partly by making sector jobs more attractive.

By now we’ve all heard that Ikea U.K. and Mother London have launched a limited edition turkey-sized meatball, “the ultimate Christmas dinner showstopper.” (It is not mammoth, but rather mostly chicken.) At over 9 pounds, the meatball comes boxed, accompanied by lingonberry jam and creamy sauce. You can either win one on Ikea’s social media or wait until Dec. 11 and hunt one down. For the herbivores (’cause you know this is not what PETA meant when it said “don’t eat turkey”), Ikea’s got a Veggieball Christmas Tree kit, too. 

Lack of dog blood donors is a problem for vets. Who knew? For client Bâtard (yes, “bastard”), a quarterly lifestyle dog-lovers magazine in France, We Are Social launched #BatardDonneur, whose premise is simple: When people Instagram dog-selfies with that hashtag, and include zip codes, local vets seeking blood can add those doggos to a volunteer donor database. 

“Long live the earth.” We hear that, and it’s a restful way to wrap the week. The ad in question, “An Homage to the Soil,” is for Swedish agricultural coop Lantmännen and makes use of BBC Green Planet cameraman Tim Shepherd, whose oeuvre shines here. The campaign acts as a gentle reminder that Earth is our source of food and life, and we need to take care of the soil for future generations. Work by Nord DDB.