Amazon praised for ‘emotional’ Christmas advert starring ballet dancer whose performance is cancelled due to Covid-19
‘The #amazon Christmas advert has reduced me to a crying lump,’ one person says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Amazon has unveiled its Christmas 2020 advert, which follows the story of a young ballet dancer whose dreams of dancing in a lead role are ruined by the coronavirus pandemic.
Titled “The Show Must Go On”, the two-minute advert sees a teenage girl – played by French ballet dancer Taïs Vinolo – find out she has been given the starring role in her dance academy’s winter show.
The dancer practices at every given opportunity, practicing her pliés in group Zoom classes and pirouetting in her living room but as government restrictions tighten, the show gets cancelled.
Seeing her elder sister’s disappointment, the dancer’s younger sibling makes her a home-made poster, reading “The Show Must Go On – outside, Sunday 7pm”, before rallying their neighbours together for the DIY performance.
The clip ends with members of the community coming together to give the dancer the stage and audience she had wanted all along as she delivers her solo performance on the street outside her home.
The advert, which first aired during the break of The Great British Bake Off on Tuesday night, has since been praised on social media with many thanking Amazon for highlighting the struggle arts workers have faced during the pandemic.
“The Amazon Christmas advert made me cry and was unutterably beautiful,” one person wrote on Twitter. “it was a moving film with a lovely message and a reminder of the beauty of the arts.”
Another person agreed, adding: “The Amazon advert totally sucked me in. I wish it hadn’t but it did – normally zone out during ad breaks.
“This however, in a few minutes, encapsulates 2020 especially for the Arts Industry. Beautiful, chilling and moving.”
Others couldn’t help but share how emotional the advert made them feel, with one person writing: “The #amazon Christmas advert has reduced me to a crying lump. Am I okay hun?”
Another added: “Oh cool just crying my eyes out of the Amazon Christmas advert then am I? Brilliant.”
While one more person commented: “The Amazon Christmas advert has arrived just in the nick of time, because my heart was about to freeze over. This year is taking its toll but my goodness this is amazing!”
Amazon’s festive offering comes just days after Aldi released a teaser for its 2020 Christmas advert that stars Kevin the carrot for the fifth year in a row.
On Sunday, the supermarket chain posted a short video on social media showing the beloved character in a plane alongside a turkey named Lieutenant Turkey.
In the video, which Aldi says was inspired by Top Gun, Kevin and the turkey fly through the sky with Kevin shouting: “Brace yourself, Turkey!”
However, when Lieutenant Turkey accidentally presses the eject button Kevin is catapulted from the cockpit before the phrase “#WhereisKevin“ flashes across the screen.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments