Taika Waititi directs a Christmas ad for Amazon, all about a child and her snow globe

Joy is made is the title of Amazon’s just-dropped Christmas spot. Like many of its competitors, the company has gone for a sweet – if a little sugary – approach this year. Lucky Generals is the ad agency behind the work; it also delivered last year’s Amazon story: Kindness, the greatest gift. Although, in a slight shift in stylistic direction, the work enlists Jojo Rabbit filmmaker Taika Waititi to direct, with Hungry Man on production.

The 60-second ad opens with a child who is clearly attached to her snow globe. Eating dinner, going to school and even sleeping are all done with snow globe in tow. In one of the more typically Taika moments in the ad, the daughter sits in a dentist chair and reaches out to her Father, who realises she is actually after the toy. Noticing his daughter’s attachment to the object, the father then goes to considerable lengths to create a giant, make-shift snow globe in a family greenhouse, asking neighbours to pitch in along the way. The ad also shows how the Dad uses a paper shredder to create snow, a tool which Amazon delivers.

Joy is made launches days after a fun Waititi advert for Belvedere Vodka, starring Daniel Craig as he parades and gyrates through a hotel to a track performed by Giggs and Rita Ora.

On the creative relationship with Taika, Jo Shoesmith, head of global creative at Amazon states: “We were inspired collaborating with Taika Waititi on this year’s TV advert. The passion he had for telling the story of a relationship between father and child, with his trademark charm, and the casting choices he knew would deliver that story, was paramount.”

The Amazon holiday advert comes amid news that unionists and campaigners will launch a protest against Amazon on Black Friday (25 November) in a bid to get the company to pay workers more, pay more tax and lower its emissions. The initiative is called Make Amazon Pay day.