Stone Junction delivers agency first Christmas advert
16 December 2020
Engineering PR consultancy, Stone Junction, is taking on the behemoths of the Christmas ad industry this week with its own effort, “The year I missed Grandma”.
The two-minute heart-tugger opens with scenes from the beginning of 2020; which we now know was doomed to be a year of hardship; new decade celebrations, the glow of festivities amongst loved ones and the roar of fireworks. On cue, 15 seconds in, Fiona Bruce announces the pandemic: “Coronavirus is a national emergency”.
The advert then follows a little girl’s repeatedly thwarted attempt to communicate with her shielding grandmother — no letter supplies, delayed or missed postage and the poorly-timed start of virtual lessons. In the end, in true ‘Man on the Moon’ style, love and communication triumph; resulting in a tearful elderly relative and a joyful tug in the pit of your stomach.
Created by the in-house content and marketing team at Stone Junction, the advert has already amassed over 500 online views in less than 24 hours — only a little bit behind John Lewis and Partners’ four million.
“Every year we watch and wait for Christmas adverts to start, devouring teasers as if they’re block-buster movies and betting on which lilting pop star is going to cover this year’s acoustic tear-jerker,” says agency Managing Director, Richard Stone. “But this year, we seemed to hang more hope on it — that Kevin the carrot or ‘Give a little love’ might be able to save 2020. Here at Stone Junction, we wanted to contribute to that hope.
“As a public relations agency, communication is at the heart of what we do — from the second we tuck ourselves under our desks, to the minute we close Microsoft Teams at night. Although this year has taught us many things, the biggest has been how important communicating with each other is. The lengths we’ve all gone too, to make the people that matter most feel loved, no matter how hard it may be — just like the little girl in the video — are extraordinary.
“We know “The year I missed Grandma” won’t be better than the John Lewis festive ad, but at least it will be a way of saying that, in this toughest of tough years, Christmas still matters.”
Despite the difficult year, the Staffordshire-based agency has experienced huge success, winning five Public Relations Communications Association (PRCA) DARE awards, adding a 5,000 square foot pub to its real estate and increasing its team by eight.
Watch the ad on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/SJChrAd
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