Kerst AH

Get to know Harry, the star of Albert Heijn’s new epic Christmas ad. Directed by Jelle de Jonge – this is a love story to remember. 

Collaborating with Albert Heijn, TBWA and The Ambassadors Jelle de Jonge has created an imaginative ad with feature film levels of production and storytelling. Follow Harry the Hamster during his epic quest for love and experience true Christmas joy, dropping the 6th of December.

Holy Holidays

It’s that time of year again! The holiday season doesn’t just usher in cheer and festivities; it also brings about some of the most impressive ads, allowing creatives to think bigger and to dive into films that are cinematic, warm, and sincere. Jelle was never one to shy away from these themes and has blessed us Holy Fools once again with a simple love story told with cinematic visuals and production. Viewers join Harry the Hamster on his journey and will root for him from the first second onward.

Sentiment and surprise

“The best thing about creating a Christmas commercial is that you can use a more sentimental tone,” said Jelle de Jonge when asked about the experience of filming a Christmas ad. “We got to work with a script that has an element of surprise to it, which also fit very cleverly into the existing Albert Heijn campaign. Together with TBWA, we set out to create a mini-feature film. Which created a huge challenge: how to tell a story from a hamster’s perspective, in a limited amount of time, whilst also getting the viewers to connect with him truly.” Jelle praises The Ambassadors, a creative post production studio, for bringing the little characters to life. “Their efforts really helped us capture that Christmas magic we so desperately wanted to show.”

Go big or go home!  

Wikke, the head of productions on this project, also experienced Christmas cheer first hand.  

“When we received the script from TBWA and Albert Heijn in July, we were immediately enthusiastic and curious as to how we could create this love story about two iconic animals. We already felt that at first glance, this simple love story had the potential to become a film with the allure we know from international Christmas classics.” Wikke goes on to explain the intricate balance between creativity and achievability: “the battle between the achievability of production and creativity is a process that we all recognize as creators. However, in the end, we managed to realise this epic film, with efforts from all partners involved.” He states that a commercial of this scale results from all elements and choices, no matter how small they seem, all building up to a magnificent result.  

Check out this new Christmas story 🎄