AMV Visits the Ghost of Xmas Past for Sainsbury's

Last night Sainsbury's launched their 2014 Christmas commercial and after last year's campaign centred on realism from the recent past, this year's has the same ethos, but takes its inpiration from a famous and far more poignant event of 100 years ago.

Created by AMV BBDO, in partnership with The Royal British Legion, and shot by Rattling Stick's Ringan Ledwidge, the spot, called Christmas is for Sharing [above], is a three-minute-and-20-second film which recreates an account of the 1914 First World War Christmas truce, when British and German troops laid down their guns and came together on No Man's Land to meet, talk, share gifts and play football.

In the ad, the story is told from the perspective of a young British soldier who dares to venture from his trench to greet his rivals. He shares a moment of connection and friendship with a young German soldier and, as the truce ends and they return to their trenches, the German soldier is moved to discover that his British friend has hidden the gift of a chocolate bar in his pocket. There is also a making of documentary to accompany the spot [above] and a film charting the true story of the scenes depicted in the commercial [below].

The chocolate bar featured in the commercial will be available to buy at Sainsbury's for £1, with all proceeds donated to The Royal British Legion. “Christmas is a special time of year when people come together to share simple moments and kindnesses," says Mark Given, head of brand communications for Sainsbury's. "This year, we wanted to reflect that theme of sharing in our Christmas campaign through the lens of one of the most extraordinary moments of sharing in modern history."