CAIRNGORM Coffee’s first ever Christmas ad has gone viral, scoring thousands of views within hours of going live.
The video has tugged at the heartstrings with an emotional message ‘for those who care’ this festive season, with one viewer commenting: “I came for the coffee, but left with a warm feeling inside”. After launching, the video has since been watched over 175,000 times.
Meanwhile, it’s even attracted some celebrity fans. Alan Cumming shared the video on his Instagram page, commenting ‘this is so cute’, while former Scotland rugby star Jim Hamilton applauded the ad and said ‘who needs John Lewis’.
Although facing fierce competition among the big-budget Christmas ads, Edinburgh’s specialty coffee roasters are giving the corporate behemoths a run for their money, by highlighting how families can be brought together this holiday season by a simple cup of coffee.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Why? Free to subscribe, no paywall, daily business news digest.
With help from the talented filmmakers at Glasgow’s Lost Clock Productions, Cairngorm Coffee’s festive ad was unveiled on Friday, November 19 after the team had teased ‘something Christmassy is coming soon’, earlier in the week.
For those eagerly anticipating what was to come next, it was well worth the wait. Just minutes after being released, Cairngorm’s debut Christmas ad was met with an overwhelming response, proving an instant hit.
One person responded on Instagram: “This is the best advert I’ve seen in a long time”, while another added: “This is absolute gold. Definitely didn’t get puffy eyes at the end there …”.
One viewer simply commented: “THE Christmas ad of the year”.
‘For Those Who Care’ thrusts loving gran Jane onto centre stage as she looks to bridge the generational gap between her and her grandson in the hope of spending quality time with him and his girlfriend this Christmas. For many people, including Jane, living alone at this time of year can be particularly difficult.
The video captures the lonely gran scrolling through her Instagram feed when a picture of her beloved granddaughter and his partner pops up, with the couple enjoying a wholesome day out, drinking coffee. Suddenly, Jane has an idea. The perfect way to bring her and her granddaughter together and show how much she cares this December 25th is with a beautifully-brewed cup of coffee.
Viewers can’t help but feel moved by the adoring Gran’s attempts to become the ultimate barista as the clock quickly counts down to Christmas Day.
Early efforts yield results that are labelled ‘too sweet’ and ‘too bitter’ as Jane employs rudimentary measures to make that one excellent cup. Amid struggles with a hand grinder and a malfunctioning pod machine, a simple ‘no’ says it all for the instant coffee experiment and all hope of her dream family Christmas seems lost.
However, at this time of year, hope can magically appear at the most difficult of moments.
While finding herself in the depths of a YouTube rabbit hole, Jane stumbles upon a video of Cairngorm founder Robi Lambie lecturing viewers on the intricacies of making a ristretto, prompting the now-exhausted Gran to take notes before nodding off on the sofa for the night.
With renewed determination, a highly-caffeinated Jane battles through burning herself on the moka pot, a miscalculated attempt at latte art ending in a milky mess and a fight against a V60 filter, as one-by-one the advent calendar windows crash open, edging closer to that special day.
Christmas arrives, the doorbell rings and the doting gran excitedly dashes to be reunited with her cherished granddaughter. As she sits him and his girlfriend down on the sofa and makes for the kitchen, Jane knows this is her moment to show just how much family means to her.
The coffee is poured, they each take a sip … ‘delicious’.
As the proud gran breathes a warming sigh of relief, over the couple’s shoulder, a Cairngorm Coffee bag catches her eye … it’s a reminder for Jane and everyone lucky enough to be celebrating with loved ones this Christmas, good coffee is ‘for those who care’.
Blown away by the response to Cairngorm Coffee’s 2022 Christmas ad, founder Robi Lambie, who shed a tear when he first watched the video, said he and his team wanted to share the message of hope this Christmas.
“Nothing quite says how much you care more than serving a quality cup of coffee to those you hold closest to you”, he commented.
“We wanted this year’s ad to show that a perfectly-brewed cup has the power to bring families together during the festive season and we’re sure Jane’s emotional journey to build a bridge with her beloved granddaughter through coffee will strike an emotional note with everyone who watches her story.
“We hope her battle to overcome hardship in the quest to become an all-star barista will provide inspiration for dozens of others as they look to spread joy and share special moments with their own loved ones this Christmas.”
Robi has admitted Cairngorm Coffee has blown its annual marketing budget with its first ever festive ad, but says there’s pressure on small, independent businesses to do whatever they can to stand out from the crowd amid the current economic climate as they battle against rising energy prices and a recession.
He added: “While major companies may have millions to spend, as a small business in a constant struggle against rising costs, we can’t afford that luxury.
“We realise the need to come up with creative ways to get our name out there and we truly believe in spreading the word about specialty coffee and the brilliant work our team do here at Cairngorm, so we thought we’d have a bit of fun and shout about it this Christmas.
“Hopefully our ad shows what can be achieved on a smaller-scale budget and we’re incredibly thankful to Lost Clock Productions for their amazing work on ‘For Those Who Care’, which has clearly had an impact on everyone who has watched it.”
To see the 2022 Cairngorm Christmas ad, you can watch it on YouTube here.
Jane is sharing updates on her journey to become the ultimate coffee barista on her Instagram account @coffeebygranny which you can follow here.
To find out more about Cairngorm Coffee, their subscription packages and their Christmas coffee blends you can visit their website at https://cairngorm.coffee.
