Taika Waititi arrives at the AT&T Hello Lab Mentorship Program event at LACMA on November 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

Things We Saw Today: Taika Waititi Directed a Holiday Coke Commercial to Make Us Cry

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As we get in the holiday mood, let’s take a trip down memory lane. For as long as I can remember, I knew when it was Christmas because that commercial with the polar bears drinking Coca-Cola would always come on TV. This is the one that I remember so vividly because the little bear goes “WEEEEEEE” and runs into his parent, and they get to drink a nice refreshing Coke together.

Now though, the Christmas Coke commercials are a little different, probably because they realized that polar bears shouldn’t be drinking soda. This year though, Taika Waititi directed an epic of a commercial, and I just found myself sitting in my room crying after it?

It features a father who has to go and work out on a rig. Before he leaves, his daughter gives him a letter to give to Santa, and when he misses the mail drop, he decides to embark on a journey to make sure that Santa gets his daughter’s wish.

Did I expect to openly sob when the father opened the letter to realize his daughter just wanted him to come home safely? No, and yet here I am! But that’s the joy of a perfect Christmas advert, right? You just start randomly crying for no reason, and you can’t figure out why that’s so emotional for you.

While it’s perfect for those Christmas cries, it does show a different said of Waititi. But then, he does have the ability to capture us with an epic story and then make us cry unexpectedly. I’m still thinking about the shoes in Jojo Rabbit and basically all of Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

So, thank you to Taika Waititi for continuing to be one of my favorite filmmakers, even if this Christmas advert did make me cry in the beginning of November.

(via Empire, image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Here are some other things we saw out there today:

  • Jason Momoa opens up about life after Game of Thrones and how he struggled. (via Entertainment Weekly)

  • Trevor Noah asks Republicans backing Donald Trump’s baseless claim if it’s worth it. (via The Guardian)
  • Joe Biden plans to reopen America to refugees. (via NPR)
  • What happened to Quawan Charles? (via The Root)

Anything we missed out there, Mary Suevians? Let us know what you saw!

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Rachel Leishman
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Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.