A commercial Christmas

You've probably seen these two Christmas commercials already, but that's not my point. I mean, how many times have you seen "It's a Wonderful Life" but you still can't wait to see it again?

Point made. So there's this:

Chevrolet came out with this emotional heart-tugger back in November, and it depicts an elderly woman – a grandmother – who is suffering from  Alzheimer's. She's lost. She's confused. She doesn't even recognize her husband.

But then her granddaughter takes her out for a ride in their classic 1972 Chevy Suburban and somehow the experience rekindles a flame, a memory, in the old woman. John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulders" drifts from the eight track.

Flashes of her memories return when she sees the house in which she was born, the high school where she met her husband, the kiss they shared at the drive-in theater.

The whole sequence describes something called Reminiscence Therapy that can be used to help Alzheimer patients to experience moments of clarity. The old lady returns from the drive down memory lane and soon shares another tender moment with her husband, whom she now recognizes. What a Christmas present. (See here. Scroll to the middle of the text for the actual commercial).

The ad is amazing. Chevy doesn't brazenly throw its brand or its logo around and yet it tells a heartwarming story. The Suburban subconsciously tells you who's paying for the ad while it's bringing you to tears. Brilliant.

The version of the commercial I linked in this post is over five minutes long and that's probably not the one you've seen on TV. You probably saw the 60-second version, which has several gaps in the story here and there. This commercial only really works in the long version.

Amazon came out with its beauty at about the same time as Chevy. This one shows three elderly women, clearly lifelong friends, wistfully watching children sledding down a hill in the same way they once did as kids.

Then one of them gets an idea. She places an order to Amazon – the only time in the spot where the company surfaces – and the next day the women are seen gleefully sledding down the hill. In one brief satisfying moment, they are transported back to their childhood.

All of this is done to the tune of The Beatles "In My Life," only the song is done as a beautiful slow-tempo piano solo. I could listen to it all day. It's a "wow" moment for me. (See here).

Like the Chevy commercial, this ad also has multiple versions. The 30-second spot erases the moment the women become young again. It might as well be a different commercial. The longer version, meanwhile, tells a story that moistens your eyes.

Both commercials, I think, are aimed at an older audience. Probably us Baby Boomers, who are now growing nostalgic with our own touches of memory loss. The songs are a clue.

I normally don't get keyed up over Christmas commercials, but these two grabbed me by the throat.

It's Christmas commercialism at its best.

Merry Christmas.