Christmas Bells (advertisement)

"Christmas Bells" is an American television commercial produced by the Hershey Company promoting Hershey's Kisses. The advertisement, originally produced with stop-motion animation and later being redone with CGI animation, features Hershey's Kisses, fashioned as a handbell choir, playing the Christmas carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". It debuted in December 1989 and is shown in the United States and Canada each holiday season; as such, it is the longest-running television commercial for the Hershey brand. In 2012, the ad was redone with a new recording of the audio and the graphics being redone entirely in CGI animation. Since then, that version had been the version playing each year up until October 2019, when the slogan in the video was slightly updated from “Happy Holidays from Hershey’s Kisses” to “Warmest Holidays from Hershey’s Kisses”.[1][2]

"Christmas Bells"
Scene from the 2012 version of the advertisement
Directed byCarl Willat
Production
company
Distributed byThe Hershey Company
Release date
December 1989
Running time
15 seconds
CountryUnited States

A new version of the commercial was introduced on November 23, 2020. This version depicted the hand of a little girl reaching into frame and taking the red Kiss that plays the last note (this part is a combination of CGI and live action), and using it with her father in baking cookies.[3][4] However, the new version was met with backlash mainly for being changed. The company did respond to the backlash, announcing that both versions would be aired.[5] A third version aired a month later, mainly in Canada, in response to the controversy, in which the red Kiss that was taken by the girl is missing, but quickly hops into frame to play the last note, much to the delight of its fellow Kisses.[6]

Background

In 1989, the Hershey Company began an advertising campaign for their product Hershey's Kisses, which was referred to as the "whimsy" campaign. Ogilvy & Mather was the advertising agency behind the spot and David Apicella served as Creative Director. Television advertisements would utilize "tabletop stop-motion animation and CG product photography." Colossal Pictures was the animation studio who produced the commercial. Carl Willat directed the spots and performed the stop-motion animation with Gordon Clark. John Dunn, Hershey's brands manager, oversaw the production and helped develop the last-minute idea to create the "Christmas Bells" advertisement.[1] Leah Longan, former marketing director for Hershey, told the New York Times in 1994 they continued to run the advertisement because they "don't wear out like normal commercials," as they are only shown seasonally.[7]

References
  1. "Ringing in the Holidays: Hershey's Kisses Chocolates". HersheyArchives.com. January 18, 2011. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  2. Hershey's Holiday Bells :15, retrieved 2022-11-23
  3. "Hershey's: Bells to Blossoms".
  4. "Hershey's Kisses iconic holiday commercial gets a big makeover. Watch it now". 19 November 2020.
  5. "Hershey's Kisses' classic Christmas bells ad got a makeover — and people are outraged". December 2020.
  6. Hershey's Kisses Christmas Commercial (but it's not either of the ones you're thinking of), retrieved 2022-06-28
  7. Stuart Elliot (December 9, 1994). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; Perennial Holiday Messages Work". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
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