Amazon is proudly bringing back Joy Ride, one of its most-loved Christmas TV adverts, for 2025.
Joy Ride first appeared on screens in 2023 and will return as part of the ‘Every Thing For Every Holiday’ campaign which highlights relevant and memorable holiday season moments.
In the advert, a trio of life-long friends relive the joy of their youth atop a sledging hill—all thanks to a flash of inspiration and a little help from the Amazon shopping app.
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The return of Joy Ride represents Amazon’s commitment to meaningful storytelling. After seeing how deeply this campaign connected with customers across the globe in 2023, becoming the company’s most successful Christmas campaign to date, it was clear these characters had more stories to tell. As such, one of the main character’s family members will also be introduced this year through the 'Every Thing For Every Holiday' campaign.
This isn't about reinventing the wheel – it's about building on a narrative that authentically captures the magic of the holiday season and Amazon's role in making those special moments possible.
The advert features an instrumental rendition of The Beatles’ In My Life, an ode to enduring friendships and shared memories. The rendition, developed exclusively for this campaign, was recorded with a 40-piece orchestra live in Prague and, as a nod to the iconic band, an old upright piano (recorded live in London).
Against this rendition and a snowy backdrop, three elderly women gather on a park bench, wistfully watching on as playful children and teenagers sledge down the hill in their local park.
While the world around them whizzes by, the friends stay seated, quiet, and still—but not for long, as one of the women discreetly opens the Amazon shopping app and adds padded seat cushions to her shopping basket.
The next day, the delivery arrives and the friends are presented with the Amazon box while the leader of the group encourages them to follow her to the hill.
The trio, now ankle-deep in fresh snow, place the new seat cushions in their sledges and they join the crowds on the snowy slopes. Laughter, cheers, and an emotional flashback to their youth spent together follow.
Maya Waterman, the lead character of Joy Ride, said in 2023: “Nostalgia in older age can often be framed as something overly-sentimental that you yearn for, so I feel immensely proud that we were able to flip that narrative on its head and tell a story of three women who don’t just relive memories, but make new ones. I hope audiences of all ages relate to that feeling of shared joy.”
Annie O’Donnell, one of Maya’s lifelong friends in the story, said: “At our age, it’s not uncommon to be typecast. And, while I will happily play the role of someone’s sweet grandmother, it is always exciting to be able to show a different side. An opportunity to shake of preconceptions and show we are not just ‘young at heart’ but still throwing ourselves into life."
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