Holiday Royal Mail ad features a poetic postie

The latest Royal Mail ad hits all the right notes of our soul focusing on hands and feelings this holiday season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2pEVA3Qr8A

The plot: the UK's national mail service puts creativity first in their holiday spot. It follows a day in the life of a postie, a person delivering letters and parcels "out in the field". The story is shown from the hands' perspective. We go through a regular working day to inspirational symphonic music and a narrated poem by Roger Robinson.

This Royal Mail ad feels closer to Terrence Malik's "Tree of Life" than it does to your regular YouTube blink-and-you-miss-it commercials. There's a certain artistic value to it and a feeling of warmth. Hands are a beautiful symbol of connection and human nature.

We see the handshakes, the lovers' embrace, the cat high-fiving, and the tender elderly grip. It's a moving piece of advertising because it's about the most ordinary human experience and hard-working people who ensure the parcels are delivered on time. The Royal Mail ad is especially relevant during the holiday season.

“Royal Mail has such an important role to play during the festive period and we’re gearing up to deliver Christmas for our customers this year. The spot heroes our 85,000 posties who are out there, come rain or shine, delivering for communities across the UK," said Sonia Sudhakar, managing director of marketing and digital at Royal Mail.

The campaign was created by AMV BBDO.

And what about USPS?

The United States Postal Service chose a slightly different approach for their 2023 holiday ad. The "Built For The Holidays" is a cute stop-motion animation that emphasizes the commitment to "build a better postal service for more on-time deliveries and easier affordable ways to ship". It's a nice, festive piece of advertising that doesn't make you cry but puts you in a holiday mood.

Here's the USPS 2023 Christmas ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahm8Y4uPEpI

And don't forget to check out our 7 Best Christmas Marketing Campaigns of 2023 list for even more holiday inspiration.