Image: Disney
Disney’s newest ad isn’t pitching a new movie, TV show, or product. By enlisting director Taika Waititi to direct a four-minute short that chronicles the unlikely friendship between a boy and an octopus, the brand is selling one thing and one thing only: magic.
We meet a cute kid on a beach holiday, just as he plunges into the water and meets an unexpected friend. What starts as a terrifying close encounter soon turns into a dynamic duo. The big-eyed baby octopus follows him home and proceeds to become this kid’s best friend.
Of course, the film is littered with references to Disney properties, like Buzz Lightyear, Star Wars, and Mickey Mouse. The two watch The Santa Clause, and the whole spot is soundtracked by an instrumental version of “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid.
It’s adorable, funny, heartwarming, and . . . incredibly familiar. Now, that may sound like a backhanded compliment, but c’mon, this is the holidays and the comfort of familiarity served in slightly differing variations is the name of the game.
For Waititi, it comes a year after “The Lost Voice,” another spot featuring a kid with a fantastical friend, made for Apple.
But this is also an unofficial Disney entry into the UK’s holiday ad season, which has become the Brits’ Super Bowl for many marketers over the past 15 years.
Deck the halls
The new Disney short was created with adam&eveDDB, the London-based ad agency that essentially created the UK’s Christmas advertising season with its work for retailer John Lewis. Since its incredible run of big budget, massive hit ads began back in 2011, there’s one well-worn page in its playbook that “The Boy & The Octopus” has executed perfectly.
A child meets or has an unexpected friend. We see them play and go on adventures, and we’re hooked. The outside world seems oblivious or indifferent to the magic. The soundtrack is a cover of a beloved song. Then Christmas eve or morning marks the culmination, and often, the separation.
Take 2014’s ad called “Monty the Penguin.” Here we meet a boy and his penguin, already best friends. They watch cartoons, play Lego, go for walks in the park, and go sledding together. No one seems bothered by a young boy parading around town with an unlicensed aquatic flightless bird. But Monty starts to crave a different type of companionship. And on Christmas morning, his dream comes true.
In 2017’s “Moz The Monster,” a young boy has an unexpected resident under his bed. At first he’s scared, but soon the two become close pals (sound familiar?). Their nights are full of fun and games, until Moz realizes it just might be time to move on. And after Christmas morning, the spot under the boy’s bed is vacant.
Much like its done with countless classic fairy tales, Disney has taken the John Lewis holiday playbook and, with the added skills of blockbuster director Waititi, created an adaptation all its own.
Cue the heartstrings. And maybe the octopus merch.
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Fonte Fast Company
