Amazon doesn’t treat Christmas advertising like a “seasonal promotion.” It treats it like a brand-building moment—where warmth, storytelling, and craft create long-term memory that powers short-term performance. That’s why Amazon Christmas ads repeatedly show up in festive leaderboards: they focus on human joy first, shopping utility second, and end with a message that feels earned.
In this guide, we’ll break down what makes Amazon Christmas commercials so effective—from the famous Amazon advert snow globe (the “Joy is Made” film) to the evergreen “Joy Ride” spot that keeps returning to the top of the charts. We’ll also cover what marketers can borrow: music strategy, emotional pacing, the role of product, and how to turn Christmas storytelling into year-round creative templates.
If you’re benchmarking festive creative across retail, compare Amazon’s approach with category icons like John Lewis Christmas ads to see how different brands use sentiment, humor, and spectacle to earn attention—and trust.
Why Amazon Christmas Ads Work
The best Amazon Christmas ads formula is simple: emotion → meaning → gentle utility → memorable close. Unlike many retail holiday campaigns that lead with discounts, Amazon typically leads with a universal feeling: joy, nostalgia, belonging, friendship, or care.
- Story first: plot and characters matter more than product shots.
- Utility as a “supporting actor”: Amazon appears as the enabler, not the hero.
- Craft + pacing: warm grading, winter textures, and a clean emotional arc.
- Music strategy: recognizable songs or meaningful covers that do half the emotional work.
This approach is why Amazon can compete with the biggest festive storytellers across categories. Even in supermarket storytelling territory, you can see how different brands land the same outcome (warmth + memory) through different creative routes—compare Amazon’s style with M&S Christmas ads, where food, indulgence, and seasonal spectacle often carry the emotional message.
Key Amazon Christmas Ads Statistics (Quick Snapshot)
Short Timeline: Recent Amazon Christmas Ads
Amazon’s modern festive identity is built on a few “anchor films” that return again and again in conversation: the snow globe story (“Joy is Made”) and the friendship sledging story (“Joy Ride”). Here’s a quick timeline for context.
| Year | Amazon Christmas campaign | What people remember |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Joy is Made | The Amazon advert snow globe and a father building a life-sized surprise |
| 2023 | Joy Ride | Three lifelong friends, a snowy hill, and a cover of “In My Life” |
| 2025 | Joy Ride (revival) | Returns to the top of festive leaderboards with maximum scores and strong uplift vs retail |
The pattern is clear: Amazon doesn’t reinvent its emotional territory every year—it builds equity. That’s similar to how some value-led retailers stick to consistent tone and character work; for a contrasting approach, look at Lidl Christmas ads, where humor and brand personality often carry the festive punch.
5 Amazon Christmas Ad Examples (Breakdowns)
Below are five practical breakdowns you can use to inspire your own holiday creative—hooks, emotional beats, product placement, and the “why it works” logic. Even if you’re not a retail brand, these structures translate to apps, SaaS, local services, and marketplaces.
1) “Joy is Made” (2022) — The Amazon advert snow globe
This film is remembered as the Amazon advert snow globe story: a child is attached to her snow globe, and her father turns that attachment into a magical, life-sized surprise. The genius isn’t the prop—it’s the message: joy isn’t purchased; it’s crafted.
- Relatable tension: the child clings to the snow globe everywhere (a small “problem” viewers understand).
- Maker energy: the father becomes the hero by building something meaningful, not by buying something expensive.
- Amazon utility: Amazon enables the build (a supporting role) rather than stealing the emotional spotlight.
2) “Joy Ride” (2023) — Friendship + nostalgia (product as enabler)
“Joy Ride” tells a story of three lifelong friends reviving the joy of their youth on a snowy hill. The product utility is straightforward: Amazon helps with a missing piece that makes the moment possible—without disrupting the emotional pacing.
The creative lesson: show the moment, not the catalog. You can build a shopping brand film where shopping is barely the point. That’s exactly how the best Amazon christmas commercials avoid feeling like commercials.
3) “Joy Ride” returns (2025) — When a campaign becomes an asset
A rare move in holiday advertising: Amazon brought “Joy Ride” back and it still topped festive effectiveness leaderboards with maximum star ratings and strong uplift versus the retail category. This is brand compounding in action—your best campaign can become a reusable asset, not a one-season expense.
- Evergreen emotion: nostalgia + friendship works every year.
- Simple set design: a few scenes, strong performances, one memorable location.
- Consistency: Amazon’s “joy” theme stays coherent across years (no random reinvention).
4) The “Joy” creative universe — One word, many stories
Notice the naming: “Joy is Made,” “Joy Ride,” “Joy is shared.” Amazon uses “joy” as a flexible brand platform, then tells different human stories under that umbrella. It’s a smart way to keep campaigns fresh without losing brand memory.
If you want to see another brand that plays the long game with emotionally grounded storytelling (but in a very different category), study Apple Christmas ads. Apple often uses craft and humanity to sell a feeling—then lets product capabilities “show up” naturally.
5) Amazon’s retail tie-ins — Turning emotion into action
The best holiday films don’t need “50% OFF” to drive performance. They need a bridge from emotion to action. Amazon often uses practical, low-friction tie-ins: last-minute convenience, gifting help, and small “made with care” moments. This is why holiday storytelling can still support conversion-heavy windows—especially when typical Amazon conversion rates are already high in peak season.
Music in Amazon Christmas Ads: Why Soundtracks Matter
People don’t remember every shot—they remember the feeling. And music is a shortcut to feeling. That’s why Amazon Christmas advert music becomes part of the conversation every year: it anchors the emotional curve and makes the ad “replayable.”
- Recognizable covers: familiarity drives instant warmth (e.g., “In My Life”).
- Emotional pacing: builds from gentle to triumphant as the story resolves.
- Memory hooks: when people search the song, they rewatch the ad.
You can replicate this even with a small budget: pick a single musical motif (piano, acoustic guitar, choir pad), map it to your story beats, and use it consistently. For product-led holiday campaigns (especially giftables), the same logic applies to “making” content—unboxings, kits, and DIY builds. That’s why themes like Christmas DIY holiday kits pair so well with Amazon’s “joy is made” creative worldview.
A Creative Playbook You Can Copy from Amazon Christmas Ads
You don’t need Amazon budgets to borrow Amazon thinking. Use the framework below to build a holiday spot, a performance video series, or even a short-form social campaign.
| Step | What you create | Example prompt |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Pick one human truth | A feeling people already have | “Joy is made, not bought.” |
| 2) Add one small tension | A relatable obstacle | “We’re missing one thing to make it special.” |
| 3) Show a maker moment | Someone creates, fixes, or reunites | Building, planning, preparing |
| 4) Product as enabler | Utility appears naturally | One app moment, one delivery moment |
| 5) Close with meaning | A line people want to repeat | “Joy is made.” / “Joy is shared.” |
- 3 hooks: the “problem,” the “plan,” the “reveal.”
- 3 proof clips: behind-the-scenes, maker moment, emotional payoff.
- 2 utility clips: delivery, gifting help, reminders, convenience.
- 2 UGC prompts: “Share your joy ride / your joy made moment.”
Holiday isn’t only film. It’s also retail execution—creative, landing pages, and offers. If your category leans into festive shopping lists and seasonal baskets, study how retailers create “shopable story worlds.” Supermarket brand films often do this especially well, and you can contrast Amazon’s warmth with how M&S Christmas ads turn indulgence into a narrative engine.
FAQs: Amazon Christmas Ads
What is the Amazon advert snow globe?
Why are Amazon Christmas commercials so emotional?
What is “Joy Ride” in Amazon’s Christmas ads?
Why does Amazon focus so much on music in its adverts?
How can smaller brands copy Amazon’s holiday style?
What makes a Christmas advert “reusable” year after year?
Which other brands are worth benchmarking alongside Amazon?
Conclusion
The best Amazon Christmas ads succeed because they don’t treat Christmas as a sales event. They treat it as a story event—where joy, nostalgia, and care build memory that supports performance. From the Amazon advert snow globe to “Joy Ride,” Amazon shows how to lead with meaning and let utility follow naturally. If you’re building your own holiday campaign, don’t start with discounts. Start with a human truth. Then build a small, beautiful story around it—one people want to replay.
