Online shopping website eBay’s 2017 Christmas ad is titled “Don’t Shop Like Everybody Else.” The video is a funny take on the phenomenon of gifting during Christmas time, and features several diverse characters in the act of gifting run-of-the-mill brown packages for Christmas.
The ad manages to tell a compelling and engaging story in just 30 seconds, using great technique and excellent writing. The vibe is in keeping with the theme of the advert, and the decor of the set is also evocative of Christmas and the holiday season. There are several people in the video who each occupy the frame one at a time. They are all from different age groups and ethnicities. Each of these characters is also highly personable, ensuring that the audience can relate to them in some way or the other. As they hand over their brown packages with ribbons strung on top, they maintain a monotonous tone in their voices, saying things like “I got it from the same place I bought your present from last year. And the year before.”, and “I bought it with one click.” Each of the characters also looks disinterested and disconnected from the process of gift-giving, making for a parody-style ad. The colors used are dull and pastel, and the background score is a light tune.
About 23 seconds into the video, however, the background score changes to a louder, happier, and more peppy tune. The ad then displays gifting ideas from the eBay website, in vibrant colors like plum, deep red, and bright yellow, creating an instant contrast from the earlier dull tones. The tone of the narrator also changes, and she is excited and chirpy as she tells the viewers to shop on eBay for Christmas presents that are unique and thoughtful.
The message that the ad aims to deliver is to use eBay for a better gifting experience, that is engaged, thoughtful, and more in tune with Christmas than gifting everyday, ordinary and run-of-the-mill things. The advert does a great job of engaging the viewer in just 30 seconds, keeping it quick and snappy. The writing is excellent and the storytelling technique is also masterful.
eBay's Don't Shop Like Everybody Else is a funny commercial video.
