Amazon’s holiday campaign spotlights classic song, acts of kindness

Amazon’s holiday campaign spotlights classic song, acts of kindness
A janitor’s dreams of stage fame are realized in ads that feature Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”

• Amazon launched its 2024 holiday marketing campaign this week in international markets. The effort leans on uplifting themes and centers on the classic Burt Bacharach and Hal David song “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” per details shared with Marketing Dive. 
• “Midnight Opus” follows a theater janitor who has a passion for singing that his coworkers help realize by setting up a stage for him to perform on as a surprise. They are able to get him a tuxedo jacket for his showcase at the last minute thanks to Amazon.   
• In the U.S., ads will air in 30-, 60- and 90-second cuts across TV, video on demand, online video, social and in cinemas for major movie releases beginning Nov. 18 and running through December. The longer version of the spot will also appear on Amazon Prime Video.

Dive Insight:
Amazon is running a familiar marketing playbook around the holidays with creative 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, though the ads won’t appear widely as paid media in the region until later in November. The campaign is also running internationally in UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden.
“Midnight Opus” tracks a janitor at a theater whose early dreams of vocal stardom went 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.”

The Video

Amazon’s in-house team is behind “Midnight Opus,” which was 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. 
Amazon’s holiday marketing continues to place a 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 off of Amazon.
Beyond ads, Amazon is promoting tech-forward activations for the key Q4 sales rush. The company on Monday unveiled virtual holiday shops that use 3D technology to let users browse hundreds of products and interact with seasonally themed content.