A historical Christmas ad from European financial services company Erste Group tells the tale of the composition of “Silent Night” in 1818 Austria and its subsequent impact across the world. 

Created by Jung von Matt Donau, “Silent Night” tells the origin story of the famous holiday carol, which is the most recorded song in the world, in an astonishing re-enactment.

The story begins in the Austrian village of Obendorf in the winter of 1818, when a young man, revealed to be the town’s priest, Joseph Mohr, notices his neighbors struggling to feel the Christmas spirit amid poverty and low morale following the Napoleonic Wars. Inspired to lift their spirits, he joins forces with music teacher and friend Franz Xaver Gruber, who helped him compose a song on Christmas Eve. Called “Silent Night,” they perform it later that same evening to the townsfolk at mass.

The rest of the short film captures ripples in time to demonstrate the impact of the song globally— a Tyrolean choir performs it for Austrian Emperor Franz I in 1822; violinist Reginald Fesseden plays it during the first-ever radio entertainment broadcast in America in 1906; soldiers on the Western Front—German and English—lay down their arms to sing together in the trenches during a rare moment of peace during World War I.

Also read: The best holiday ads of 2024
 
The film was created with attention to historical detail, including a replica of Mohr’s guitar and his small room on a first floor in Obendorf, and was developed in collaboration with the Silent Night Society. It was directed by Daniel & Szymon of Arts & Sciences.

“We’re thrilled to share the remarkable story of Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr with the world this Christmas,” said Mike Nagy, executive creative director at Jung von Matt Donau. “Their journey is a testament to the power of two individuals who believed a simple song could inspire hope and change the world for the better.”

The film ends with the statement “Your spark will light up the world,” features Erste’s group call to action typical of its creative campaign platform, “Believe in Yourself.”

Erste Group has worked with Jung von Matt for more than 10 years, and introduced the “Believe in Yourself” platform, known as #glaubandich in German, in 2017. The brand’s Christmas campaigns have become an annual tradition after their 2018 animated film “Henry Hedgehog” went viral. 

“Silent Night” is the brand’s first live-action Christmas film and historical story. There are now more than 130,000 recorded versions “Silent Night” in more than 300 languages.

The campaign will run on TV, print and digital and social channels in Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania.

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