This year's Christmas campaign from the Spanish National Lottery taps into nostalgia, one of the key trends we've seen in holiday ads this year, but also gives a nod to the pandemic we've endured. 

The Spanish Lottery is well-known for its heartstring-tugging Christmas ads, such as Justino, which won a Grand Prix at Cannes back in 2016. Many have focused on the idea of sharing your good luck, and this one is no different; it depicts a series of scenarios in which people gift tickets to friends, colleagues and family, starting out in the 1940s. Each scene in the spot painstakingly recreates the decade with fashions and period detail, from the wartime factory worker to the '80s office, right up to a familiar Christmas market scene.

However, the final scenario suddenly tells us we are in 2020, with a woman walking down an empty apartment block corridor wearing a mask. She finds a letter from her neighbor under her door, thanking her for being there for her this year and helping her feel less lonely. There's a particularly poignant moment where they stand in their doorways, two meters apart. A final message then appears: "Sharing as never before."

The campaign, by Contrapunto BBDO, was directed by Nacho Gayan of Agosto, and will air until Dec. 12, the day before the Spanish Lottery draw.