It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for: the 2024 Weepies, our annual celebration of holiday ads that make you cry. The holidays are always a great source of sentimental sniffling in the ad game, and getting to the top of the tearjerking pile takes a lot of skill and heart that’s worthy of celebrating. That’s not to say these ads are necessarily the best ones — 2024 brought us plenty that were cute, clever, or just plain delightful (I’m looking at you, Adjoa Andoh). But when it comes to ads that warm the heart whilst stinging the tear ducts, these are the best of the best.
But first:
Before we get into the awards, we should check in with a couple of old friends. Aldi returns with the further adventures of Kevin The Carrot, which have never returned to their weepy roots but are still adorable and worth checking out (particularly a certain’s briefcase’s false bottom).
And then there’s Chevrolet. Chevrolet continues to be disqualified from Weepy contention due to their constant pandering to the judges with the absolute most manipulatively, flawlessly moving ads ever. So I’m just going to point you to this story of a young man overwhelmed by the expectations of his family , and a ride with his dad in a Chevy truck owned by his grandfather who’d just died, and of course sweet memories and emotional connection, and Anomaly are evil, and you can do like I did and cry about it on your own time. We’re done here.
But you didn’t come here for ads that weren’t Weepy-worthy. You came here to somehow be happy and also crying at the same time. So here they are:
Your 2025 Weepy Award winners.
Honorable Mentions
O2, “Snowing SIMs” (VCCP): The ad itself isn’t terribly weepy, but what it’s promoting is really sweet — mobile company O2’s National Databank provides free data minutes to the millions of people across the UK who don’t have access to the crucial connections they need, and that’s emotionally moving in its own way and worthy of mention.
JD Sports, “The Family Portrait” (Uncommon): This one doesn’t bring home a Weepy because the main qualifier for the award is actively bringing me to tears, and I only got to almost-welling-up here. But it’s such a real, true, relatable, beautiful celebration of family as something beyond genetic ties that it deserves recognition.
Suchard, “Martin, a Christmas Story” (Ogilvy Spain): Y’all know I can always get got by a lonely anthropomorphic toy, and Suchard’s lonely li’l Mars rover gets me good. Suchard’s ad (sound familiar?) misses the Weepy solely because Deutsche Telekom’s entry just barely edged it out, but make no mistake: I teared up for the lonely robot.
Bronze: Deutsche Telekom, “Bubbles” (MUW Saatchi & Saatchi)
An ad featuring two girls in adjoining snow globes could just be a cute story, or it could be strikingly moving. Two little girls develop a friendship despite both their physical separation and the apparent prejudice of their communities. But they don’t just grow their connection despite the barrier — they take action to crush it. Of all the moments in this really effective ad, I wouldn’t have expected a little girl unwrapping a brick to be the peak of my weepiness, but the holidays are a time for surprises. (A note: I went back and forth repeatedly debating the placement of this ad vs. Apple’s ad below, so know this ad was basically a coin flip away from Silver honors.)
Silver: Apple, “Heartstrings”
This is the only product-focused ad making it into this year’s Weepies, which almost always go to more brand-centric entries. But a winner’s a winner. And as product ads go, it’s a straightforward one: A dad is separated from life around him by his inability to clearly hear it, and the product helps him do that, and we’re all happy. It is the dad’s performance here that elevates the ad to something different, drawing us into his pain at the loss of engagement with this important part of his daughter’s life and to something more than joy when he’s able to be a part of it (and since the ad was, apparently, informed by the cast’s own experiences and relationships, that authentic emotional impact isn’t a surprise). That moment at the end when his eyes start to get glassy is the moment mine did, too.
Gold: Disney, “The Boy & The Octopus” (Adam&eveDDB)
One of the most frequent comments I’ve seen among Weepy recommendations has been, “I know everyone else is going to say the Disney one, but I…” Well, I have no such qualms, I’m Pumpkin Spice Basic, I’m saying the Disney one. Disneys’ ad (directed, of course, by none other than Taika Waititi) pulls directly on the heartstrings with the adventures of an adorable, big-eyed li’l octopus buddy and the little kid he attaches to at the beach. The ad is absolutely loaded with sweet moments, but the moment when the boy realizes that the li’l octopus’ dreams are for elsewhere? And he’s sad but he wants to give his li’l octopus friend what he needs to be happy? And then they have to say goodbye, and it’s sad but also happy, and… Get it together, Gillett, it’s an animated octopus.
Weepy holidays to all.
Why do I choose to spend a good half of December actively seeking out things to make me cry? Just because I do. I like feeling feelings. And I hope that whatever you and your loved ones — bio families and chosen ones — get to feel this holiday season, they eventually boil down to joy and peace and love. Here’s wishing you holidays with minimal weeping, and a genuinely happy new year, from all of me at Caperton Gillett Creative.