A dad fears he's losing touch with his gaming-obsessed daughter in this Swedish holiday ad

Spot from retailer Elkjop has a message about spending time together

Published On
Dec 05, 2019

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As brands increasingly encourage us to get off our devices over the holidays and into the real world (see HP's effort as well as another from Chick-fil-A) here's one ad from a Nordic retailer with a slightly different message. There is a way to reconnect with the people love this Christmas, if only you're prepared to join in.

The spot from Sweden's Elkjøp centers on a father who fears he's losing touch with his gaming-obsessed teenage daughter—something that will no doubt strike a chord with many viewers. Whenever he tries to interact with her, she's either immersed in a game or chatting online with her friends (sometimes simultaneously, as is typical teen behavior).  However, the daughter isn't quite as oblivious to what's going on. She picks out the perfect gift for her dad—a gaming headset so he can join her in her digital world. 

Set to “Never Forget You” by Zara Larsson and MNEK, the ad was created by Nord DDB, and directed by Agnes-Lo Åkerlind at BRF. It's running in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

"As society becomes more stressful, it also becomes clearer that we need to take the opportunity to spend time together during holidays," said Eddie Hernandez, Nordic Marketing director, Elkjøp a statement. "At the same time, the boundaries between what is actually time together are blurred now days, virtual times can be even more valuable for some people than meeting IRL."

While the latter still sounds kind of scary to us, it's perhaps a more realistic approach than asking teens to stop gaming and texting altogether. It's also another example, as per Apple's holiday campaign, of the argument that "screen time" can be a positive and creative force rather than just a passive form of entertainment.