“English for beginners” is a Polish advertisement for auction site Allegro at Christmas time. The video shows an older man using Allegro's website to order English translation books, and upon delivery, begins to teach himself the language. The man uses the books, post-it notes, and even the help of his little dog to learn the new language, repeating words and phrases to himself over and over again to get it right. He then receives a suitcase from the site and travels to the UK, where the viewer discovers that he has journeyed to surprise his son and his daughter-in-law, and has been learning English so he can greet his young granddaughter for the very first time, telling her: "Hi. I'm your grandpa."
The video uses a great storytelling technique with emphasis on the musical background score to connect emotionally with the audience. Sound plays a very important role in the advert, from the accented voice of the old man to the whistling of the tea kettle to the sound of an English movie he watches to perfect his command of the language. The writing is extremely skillful, approachable and light while also managing to connect with the audience. Great attention has been paid to detail in the visuals as well, with high-quality video clips of the old man’s surroundings in order to make it more relatable to the viewers. The video also does not excessively promote Allegro, simply showing an Allegro package arriving at the man’s home in the beginning of the video. It aims to instead connect the company with the spirit of Christmas, ensuring wider appeal and an emotional connect in the minds of the audience.
Overall, the video does an excellent job of following a clear strategy of emotionally engaging with the audience while also accurately representing the brand identity.
English for beginners is a great commercial video.
