In When Harry Met Santa—a reference to the popular rom-com When Harry Met Sally—follows a man, Harry, who meets Santa in the middle of the night while delivering gifts to his house. The guys seemed to fall in love instantly. However, Santa quickly escapes to the outside.
Year after year the scene repeats itself. Harry even writes him a letter with the message “All I want for Christmas is you”. The result? Santa calls the postman to deliver the parcels so he can stay with Harry. The ad ends with a kiss from the heart.
Posten’s Christmas advertisements are highly praised not only in Norway itself, but also internationally.
Philip Tijsma of lqbtqi + interest group COC Netherlands reacts very positively to the announcement. “The strength lies precisely in the nature of what is being portrayed. It is very important that people of different gender and sexual identities are shown in films and series as well as in commercials. Without vision there is no acceptance, that is what comes down to it, and it is still necessary.”
Posten’s Christmas ads are usually the funniest. For example, they previously mocked Donald Trump’s private tweets, and in another Christmas ad they questioned if the Virgin Mary was really a virgin. They took a different path this year.
No political statement
Marketing Director Monica Solberg explains: “Publishing is an inclusive workplace with a lot of diversity. As always, the main objective of the campaign is to show that Post is always innovative. We want to put our services in a socially relevant place, with topics important to the community and to us at Posten.”
Not all of the feedback is positive, but the company was ready for it, Solberg said. She rejects the feeling that advertising mixes Christmas with politics. “The right to love whoever you want is a fundamental human right and will not be considered a political issue in free democratic societies in 2021. The Norwegian Post has been connecting people for 375 years and will continue to do so regardless of orientation or gender identity.”
