Amazon’s 2024 holiday campaign blends heartwarming storytelling with tech-driven, immersive shopping experiences for a festive season to remember.
Amazon is running a familiar marketing playbook around the holidays with creativity that emphasizes human connection and features “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” The presence of the Bacharach-David classic, a well-known anti-war song, could resonate at a time of global strife. Amazon’s holiday campaign was unveiled as U.S. consumers head to the polls for a particularly contentious presidential election. However, the ads won’t appear widely as paid media in the region until November. The campaign also runs internationally in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden.
“Midnight Opus” tracks a theater janitor whose early dreams of vocal stardom go unrealized, as evidenced by a younger photo of himself hung on his locker door. The janitor’s colleagues, impressed by his singing chops as he goes about his day job, arrange the stage at their workplace so he can finally have a moment in the spotlight. A tux jacket courtesy of Amazon brings a classic flare to his heartfelt rendition of “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”
Amazon’s in-house team is behind “Midnight Opus,” developed in collaboration with production shop Hungry Man and directed by Wayne McClammy. Media buys reflect the campaign’s theatrical setting, with in-cinema ads attached to upcoming box-office draws like “Moana 2” and “Wicked,” both releasing Nov. 27. The 90-second cut of the spot will also run on Prime Video, which began carrying commercials in January as part of Amazon’s bigger push into video advertising.
Also Read: How AI Augments, Not Replaces, Human Marketing Skills, Says Amanda Cole
Amazon’s holiday marketing continues to focus on music and sentimental storytelling. The e-commerce giant’s seasonal campaign last year was soundtracked by an instrumental version of The Beatles’ “In My Life” and showed a trio of older women recreating happy childhood memories with products purchased on Amazon.
Beyond ads, Amazon is promoting tech-forward activations for the key Q4 sales rush. On Monday, the company unveiled virtual holiday shops that use 3D technology to let users browse hundreds of products and interact with seasonally themed content.
