Santa loves and loses Mother Earth in this bleak holiday ad about climate change

Posten, the Norwegian postal service, has become well-known for its provocative Christmas spots; last year's featured Santa in a gay love story, and 2020's ad portrayed Santa as an "angry white man" who's partial to Twitter rants. Before that, it controversially hinted that a mail carrier may have played a role in the Virgin Birth. This year, the advertiser takes on the issue of climate change in a somber film that charts the love affair between Father Christmas and Mother Earth. The film sees the pair, at first happy together, start to fight as the Christmas season approaches, and consumption and climate change stand in stark contrast. Mother Earth storms out...but can Father Christmas win her back? The spot is a darkly depressing one (filmed in drab colors in a landscape so bleak it will make you shiver) but neverthless ends on a note of hope. Sean Meehan of Arts & Sciences directed. The insight for the ad, by agency Pol, comes from PWC Norway's Climate Index, which shows that among the 100 largest Norwegian companies, only 10 have cut emissions in accordance with the targets set in the Paris Agreement. Posten is one of the 10. "We see that climate change and environmental issues are important and particularly engage the young, but we also want this campaign to reach broader and emotionally engage older audiences that sit on top in the corporate world," said Monica Solberg, marketing director at Posten, in a statement.

Santa loves and loses Mother Earth in this bleak holiday ad about climate change

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