Movie-Inspired Christmas Commercials

These new Christmas commercials twist the original movie story to hilarious effect

Have you seen Ray, the 2024 Christmas advert from British toy retailer, The Entertainer, yet? A wonderful spin on Disney’s Toy Story, where toys have a life of their own, this film is anchored by Ray, a forgotten toy, much like the cowboy hero, Woody, in the original movie. Having been cast aside by his human for a shiny new monster truck, Ray belts out Roxette’s Must Have Been Love in a deadpan voice (of British Indie artist, Baxter Dury) to hilarious effect.

Created by London-based agency, adam&eveDDB, this Christmas commercial highlights the fickle nature of a child’s relationship with her toys, appropriately underlined by its tagline: ‘For the next love of their life.’

The other movie-inspired commercial was released earlier today. Ryan Reynolds’ very well-timed Aviation Gin commercial, Frosty Gin is so Hot, parodies Netflix’s latest Christmas release, Hot Frosty, which garnered 16 million views in its first week. The holiday movie traces the story of a young widow who magically brings a muscular snowman to life simply by adorning his neck with her scarf and hoping he were real. The snowman, in turn, helps her heal and rediscover love, in true Christmas spirit.

A still from 'Hot Frosty’ (Courtesy: Netflix)

Reynolds’ take on Hot Frosty is far from Christmasy. The chiselled snowman in the commercial bears a striking resemblance to the actor/ brand owner – a definite mark up from Dustin Milligan’s Jack in Hot Frosty, one must admit – and the twist in this tale is that the protagonist’s expectations are firmly rooted in grim reality.

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