Amazon scores advertising hit with ‘Joy Ride’ commercial

You can’t help but smile and tingle inside – and perhaps even shed a tear – every time Amazon’s holiday “Joy Ride” commercial comes on television.

Writing for Adweek magazine, Dr. Mark Ritson of Southern Tasmania, Australia, who is a global brand consultant and international marketing guru, tells us that the commercial spot is about “three elderly women who are sitting on a snowy bench watching children sledding.”

They picture themselves long ago as young girls sledding down the same hill. One of the women slyly fires up her Amazon app and places an order for merchandise.

 

The very next day, three sled-worthy cushions arrive and “the three friends are barreling down the slope with grins that threaten to outshine the Christmas lights,” in Dr. Ritson’s view.

Nico Casal performs a soft piano cover of The Beatles’ classic “In My Life” as “old friends are briefly, magically, transformed into children once again.”

 

“If the spot feels comfortingly familiar, it’s because it is. “Joy Ride” debuted back in 2023 and quickly found footing as Amazon’s most lauded holiday effort,” Dr. Ritson said. The commercial was developed by Amazon’s in-house creative team and Hungry Man Productions of Los Angeles.

“According to research firm System1, the ad was not only Amazon’s most effective of all time, it tested almost off the scale for emotional resonance and brand building,” Dr. Ritson said. “But what makes the ad interesting now is that Amazon decided to bring it back as its main emotional brand-building commercial for 2025.”

“While some in the industry might regard the move as a backward step or a signal of creative exhaustion on the part of Amazon, it very much signals a brand and a marketing team who know their advertising onions.”

 Dr. Mark Ritson

“For several years, effectiveness scholars have been noting that despite a desperate desire for newness on the part of clients and agencies, existing ads often outperform the new ones created to replace them,” Dr. Ritson said.

“The core message is that marketers get sick of their ads much quicker than consumers do. In fact, it’s apparent that most ads are being pulled and replaced long before they have the chance to reach their maximum potential. The reason? Marketers spend weeks or months creating a new ad. Once it hits the market, they are already sick of it and keen to make something new.”

“But the data on effectiveness and longevity suggests many campaigns could and should run for years. We are taking our cakes out of the oven far too early in this industry. Partly because we like making new stuff. Partly because we aren’t attuned to the consumers we target.”

“To be clear, if you have a mediocre ad, it’s probably going to stay that way. But when a company like Amazon creates a proven winner – as it did with “Joy Ride” – then the logic for running it over multiple years is clear.

“Claudine Cheever, vice president of brand and marketing at Amazon, is a scholar of advertising effectiveness,” Dr. Ritson added. “It was her call to run the ad again this year, and her logic is clear and impressive. She knows the campaign delivered a literally perfect score for emotional impact and brand building in 2024, and she’s confident it will do so again.”

 

“She has also craftily saved the 20% of her budget that would normally go toward the creative production of a new ad and moved all of it to the working capital of media spend.”

“Amazon’s ‘Joy Ride’ ad isn’t just a heartwarming reprise – it’s a commercial masterstroke. And it signals a sea change in how marketers and advertising agencies should think about the metabolism of creative work.”

“Make fewer ads. Make better ads,” Dr. Ritson advised. “Spend more on initial creative. And more on testing to get them right. Then run them for longer, ignoring the frenetic energy of those telling you to create more content all the time.”

“Like the three old ladies sitting at the top of a snowy hill, enjoy the ride.”

 

 

Amazon believes in ‘Joy Is Shared’ 

Jo Shoesmith, vice president and global chief creative officer at Amazon, said the sledding story fits into the company’s overall 2025 campaign theme of “Joy Is Shared.”

It’s a “reminder that sometimes the joy you receive from doing something special, for those you love, can uplift us all at this time of year”…(and it all comes so nicely packaged together through Amazon’s shopping selection and convenience.)

Maya Waterman, the lead character of “Joy Ride,” commented: “Nostalgia in older age can often be framed as something overly sentimental that you yearn for, so I feel immensely proud that we were able to flip that narrative on its head and tell a story of three women who don’t just relive memories, but make new ones. I hope audiences of all ages relate to that feeling of shared joy.”

 

Annie O’Donnell, one of Maya’s friends in the story, said, “At our age, it’s not uncommon to be typecast. And, while I will happily play the role of someone’s sweet grandmother, it is always exciting to be able to show a different side. An opportunity to shake off preconceptions and show we are not just ‘young at heart’ but still throwing ourselves into life.”

 

Jaclyn Roth interviewed the three “sledding grannies” in 2023 for the Morning Honey digital media outlet. “The ability to share joy has no age upper age limit.”

 

“I think it’s important for people to know that we are vital, and we do have lives, even if we have gray hair,” Susan Grace said.

 

O’Donnell said: “I hope this commercial gives other older women hope and reminds them that ‘it ain’t over until it’s over.’”

Waterman said: “Hopefully, the ad inspires others to keep their loved ones close and continue making new holiday memories that they’ll cherish.”

Roth said the original concept for the commercial was to have two men and one woman be the focal point, but things quickly shifted. While waiting at a call back (second) audition, the three women started chatting. “We were having such a great old time, I think they had to tell us to shut up at one point,” O’Donnell said.

“I guess they were running low on men, because they called the three of us in to audition together, and as we walked in the door, I heard the director say, ‘I love this group.’ So, it was supposed to be two men and a woman, but the three of us had bonded in the outside waiting room – just laughing and enjoying each other’s company – and somehow that showed.”

Waterman added, “I’d say it was a little bit of magic. We all just hit it off (we are rather outspoken old ladies!). You never know in casting, or life for that matter.”

Grace said that all auditions should be willing to take a chance and do something different. “More production teams should keep an open mind and be open and willing to make spontaneous creative changes based on chemistry and how actors perform together,” she remarked.

Grace grew up sledding every weekend, and she was psyched to get out into the wintry wonderland, Roth wrote.

“I had a little trepidation, to be honest, because I’m less physical than I used to be.” Grace said.

“But I thought, ‘Well, I’m doing it. Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do it.’ And that’s because there was so much genuine care for us that it made me want to work harder and do a better job than I might have in another situation.”

O’Donnell said: “After we wrapped the last day at the studio, I got in my car to go home and I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to leave.’ The whole experience was just extraordinary.”

Waterman also was a bit nervous about sledding, since she had both hips replaced, but she was ecstatic to be surrounded by “these wonderful people.”

“The whole experience from the beginning to end was the most fun I’ve had in decades,” she said. “My favorite part was sledding down the mountain and looking up at the snow-covered peaks with the sun peeking through and my friends’ joyous faces.”

“For me, it was a very emotional experience on the mountain, an inner and outer expression of feelings and emotions, which I hope others connect with this holiday season. The feelings of memories stirring, youthful days gone by, and embracing joyful days ahead with family and friends.”

 

While filming was occurring at Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of 11,000 feet, in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, the three characters enjoyed meals together in the lodge.

 

They still get together regularly to socialize as the “maidens of the mountain.”

Waterman offered a bit of philosophy: “You can do it, just like the three of us did. In life, you have to take the moment and run with it, because you never know. For me, it was a pivotal moment on the mountain. There was so much emotion, especially when I saw my younger self. I had instant tears!”

 

“I hope to continue to inspire others by writing poetry and stories that uplift the youth with my life experiences. Life is NEVER what you think. Anything can happen.”

Manitowoc, Wis.: An ‘All-American Christmas City’

Before shiny silver aluminum Christmas trees put Manitowoc, Wis., on the national map, this city on the western shores of Lake Michigan, was known locally as the Christmas “Tinsel Town” of the Midwest.

 

For many years, the National Tinsel Manufacturing Company in Manitowoc was the major U.S. manufacturer of the sparkly, metallic-looking strips that were carefully and artfully draped over the boughs of Christmas trees – commonly known as tinsel.

The Manitowoc County Historical Society said the company’s roots extend to 1888, when Henry C. Stolze Jr. founded his company to manufacture Christmas tree tinsel and ornaments.

 

The society’s Amy Meyer says her group has a lot of fun promoting the community as an “All-American Christmas City” – the birthplace of Stolze’s tinsel factory as well as the home of the Aluminum Specialty Company, which began cranking out its famous “Evergleam” aluminum Christmas trees in 1959.

 

Stolze’s family came to America from Germany in the 1860s, when he was 9. His parents settled on a truck farm north of Manitowoc.

Stolze had a keen mind for mechanics. For example, he invented and patented a metal clip that allowed candles to be safely attached to Christmas trees so they could be lit without igniting the tree branches.

Candles, of course, made the tinsel (also referred to as icicles) glisten and twinkle. Created in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1610, tinsel was originally made of pure silver. The silver was hammered until it was paper-thin, then cut into strips.

Modern tinsel is typically made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film coated with a metallic finish. Traditionalists say that the plastic forms of tinsel, though more affordable, do not “hang as well” as tinsel made from heavy metals like silver and lead.

Stolze got involved in local Manitowoc politics and ran for city mayor in 1905. He campaigned on the platform that the water and electric light utilities should be owned by the municipality. Stolze’s opponent, Dr. William T. Kemper, the incumbent, was opposed.

Stolze won election by a margin of 195 votes, but Mayor Stolze’s hopes for the municipal ownership of the water and power companies didn’t occur during his first term. 

Mayor Stolze

The city council tried to work a deal to buy the water utility in 1905, but the parties failed to settle. Stolze’s two-year term expired in 1907. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Charles A. Groffman.

Stolze was elected mayor again in 1911, and this time, the city hammered out a deal to acquire the waterworks. While Stolze was still mayor in 1914, the city also obtained the electric company. Manitowoc Public Utilities (MPU) was formed and continues to operate. Stolze retired from politics in 1917 and sold his business to William C. Protz.

Stolze died in 1925. His obituary stated: “He was a man of a brilliant mind. He was a formidable opponent in any cause to which he committed himself. When he did so, he gave it all his energy. He was the kind of person who could overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable.”

Under Protz’s leadership, the tinsel company was reorganized; he renamed the operation as the National Tinsel Manufacturing Company. The business flourished and prior to World War II, it was the largest tinsel manufacturer in the world.

Consumers’ tastes in holiday decorating began to change, and demand for tinsel declined drastically, causing the plant to close in 2019.

In a nutshell, the market dried up. Traditional tinsel users would save every strand and reuse them year after year. They didn’t need to buy new cartons to replenish their supply.

Younger generations weren’t inclined to meticulously tinsel their Christmas trees.

‘Changing of the guard’ occurs with Nebraska statues

Nebraska is one of only three U.S. states that has voted to “change out” its original pair of statues of famous people in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol Building.

The collection was established in 1864 to feature two statues from each state. In 2000, the U.S. Congress relaxed the rules to allow states to “substitute in” alternative statues.

Nebraska’s state legislature took advantage of the opening to “retire” both of its original statues – William Jennings Bryan and Julius Sterling Morton. Both of these gentlemen had represented Nebraska in Statuary Hall since 1937.

 

Bryan yielded his spot to Chief Standing Bear of the Ponca Tribe of Native Americans, while Morton stepped aside to enable author Willa Sibert Cather to have a turn.

 

William Jennings Bryan settled in the capital city of Lincoln, Neb., and served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bryan was trained as a lawyer and became a dominant force in the Democrat Party, running three times as its candidate for U.S. president.

 

Bryan lost twice to Republican William McKinley in 1896 and 1900, and he lost again to Republican William Taft in 1908. President Woodrow Wilson selected Bryan to serve as his Secretary of State following the 1912 presidential election.

 

Throughout his political career, Bryan was a highly effective orator known for his powerful, articulate and dramatic speaking style. Bryan’s speeches especially resonated with farmers and laborers, earning him the nickname as “The Great Commoner,” which reflected his ability to champion the cause of the working class.

J. Sterling Morton was 22 when he moved to the Nebraska Territory in 1854 from Michigan and purchased 160 acres at Nebraska City. (The community is located on the Missouri River, about 45 miles south of Omaha.) Morton became the editor of the Nebraska City News.

He was appointed Secretary of the Nebraska Territory by President James Buchanan in 1858 and was Acting Governor for a brief period. (Nebraska became a state in 1867.)

 

On his property, Morton indulged his fascination with trees, planting many rare varieties and heirloom apple trees. Morton sought to instruct people in the modern techniques of farming and forestry. He became well known in Nebraska for his political, agricultural and literary activities and was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by President Cleveland in 1893.

Morton is credited with helping change that department into a coordinated service to farmers, and he supported Cleveland in setting up national forest reservations. Morton is known nationally as the founder of Arbor Day.

 

This bronze statue of J. Sterling Morton is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. It was dedicated in 2014.

Rudulph Evans of Front Royal, Va., sculpted both of the original Bryan and Morton statues. (Evans designed the statue of Thomas Jefferson inside the Jefferson Memorial in Washington. At the time the memorial was inaugurated, in 1943, due to material shortages during World War II, the statue was of plaster patinated to resemble bronze; the finished bronze was cast four years later.)

So, where are they now? The William Jennings Bryan statue is located at the Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward, Neb., located about 25 miles west of Lincoln.

 

The statue of J. Sterling Morton is inside the Morton-James Public Library in Nebraska City. The building was gifted by Morton Salt business tycoon Joy Morton (son of J. Sterling). Vantine James served as a library board member for 38 years.

The other two states who have subbed-in two replacement statues at the U.S. Capitol are Arkansas and Kansas.

Newcomers from Arkansas are civil rights leader Daisy Bates and famed country music artist Johnny Cash. They have replaced James Paul Clarke and Uriah Milton Rose. 

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James Clarke was Governor of Arkansas and also served in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Represetnatives.

U.M. Rose was a brilliant lawyer and judge in Arkansas.

Kansas is now represented by Amelia Earhart and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as successors to John James Ingalls  and George Washington Glick.

John Ingalls was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. 

George Glick was the ninth governor of Kansas. 

New Nebraska statue crafted by ‘local sculptor’

Professor Littleton Alston of Omaha, Neb., was selected in a national competition to create a sculpture of author Willa Sibert Cather to represent Nebraska in the National Statuary Hall Collection of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. He was overjoyed to have the opportunity.

Alston, 67, is the first African-American sculptor to be represented in the national collection.

A descriptive essay compiled by the Architect of the Capitol, the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex, follows, in a slightly abridged form:

“Littleton Alston grew up in Washington. He and his brothers explored nearby neighborhoods and the National Mall on their bicycles, splashing through reflecting pools, eavesdropping on tours in the U.S. Capitol and subconsciously absorbing the monumental landscape and its public art.”

“Alston was intrigued by sculpture as a young child, and his mother, recognizing his artistic talent, took him to apply to the then-new high school – the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Despite long, cross-town commutes, Alston thrived and concluded his high school years by winning a senior art prize.”

“He earned a scholarship and attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where he majored in sculpture. Alston completed an M.F.A. at the Maryland Institute College of Arts Rinehart Graduate School of Sculpture in Baltimore and then worked under several experienced sculptors.”

“Alston joined the faculty of Creighton University in Omaha in 1990 and is now a full professor of sculpture. He maintains a private studio in addition to teaching. Alston exhibits work regularly and has completed dozens of public commissions. 

He was selected from more than 70 applicants to sculpt this statue of Cather.”

 

About the Willa Cather statue:

 “Willa Cather, who lived from 1873-1947, was a writer whose work illuminated the lives of settlers on the prairies during the homesteading era of the late 19th century.”

“Alston depicts Cather at around age 40, when she began focusing on writing novels. He places her on the Nebraska prairie, drawing inspiration from the landscape during a ‘field research’ session. She grasps a walking stick as she strides forward, protected by a brimmed hat and sturdy shoes.”

 

“Cather was born in Virginia. Her family moved to rural Red Cloud, Neb., when she was 9, and the new environment and people she met made an indelible impression on her.”

“In the statue, the prairie seems to rise around Cather; grasses undulate around her feet while goldenrod, the state flower, clings to her skirt and directs the viewer’s gaze upward. The movement of the grasses and the flow of Cather’s skirt suggest the wind moving over the prairie.” 

“A western meadowlark, Nebraska’s state bird, emerges from the goldenrod. It references Cather’s novel ‘Song of Lark’ (1915), which chronicles the development of an artist, and Alston considers the bird’s fluttering rise as being representative of the ‘startling of new creative genius.’”

 

“The broken and half-buried wagon wheel behind Cather references the hard work and challenges faced by Nebraska settlers struggling to survive the westward journey and prairie existence described in such novels as ‘O Pioneers!’ (1913) and ‘My Ántonia’ (1918).”

“Cather won a Pulitzer Prize for 1922’s “One of Ours,” inspired in part by a cousin’s death while fighting in World War I. ‘Death Comes for the Archbishop’ (1927), set in the desert southwest, often appears on lists of best modern literature.”

 

“Although she lived in New York City for much of her adult life, Cather returned to Red Cloud regularly until her mother’s death in 1931, reacquainting herself with the people and places that inspired so much of her fiction.”

“Many critics and readers found her use of straightforward language to tell stories of hardworking ordinary men and women a refreshing alternative to much of the era’s literature, which tended to focus on cosmopolitan people of means whose problems were far removed from the settlers’ struggle.”

“In her left hand, Cather carries a pen and sheaf of papers, ready to record any inspiration that arises as she walks.”

“Cather’s writing career began when she was a student at the University of Nebraska. She worked on several collegiate publications and as a journalist and drama critic for Lincoln newspapers. After graduating, she worked as a journalist, critic and editor in Pittsburgh, Pa., and then at McClure’s in New York City, where she was the managing editor from 1908-12.

“Before she left full-time editorial work, she had met Edith Lewis, who was both her longtime companion and an editorial collaborator for Cather’s fiction. By the time of her death in 1947, Cather had written 12 novels, six collections of short fiction, two editions of a book of poetry, and numerous other works of nonfiction, collected journalism, speeches and letters.”

“Cather’s handwriting appears twice on the statue: in her signature on the self-base, and in a passage from ‘My Ántonia’ copied on the papers she carries: ‘Cautiously, I slipped from under the buffalo hide, got up on my knees and peered over the side of the wagon. There seemed to be nothing to see; no fences, no creeks or trees, no hills or fields. If there was a road, I could not make it out in the faint starlight. There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made.’”

“The young narrator’s description of his arrival in Nebraska seems to match 9-year-old Cather’s response to her first experience of the vast plains.”

The bronze statue and granite pedestal stand 10 feet tall and weigh nearly 1,200 pounds. 

A gold inscription on the front contains a brief passage from “O Pioneers!,” which reads: “The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.”

The sculpture was unveiled on June 7, 2023.