He is famous for his dryer-than-dry humor, and he’s bringing it to his uproarious portrayal of Father Christmas this holiday season.
Steve Carell plays a stressed-out Santa who is ‘out of ideas’ after a tough year in a new holiday ad for telephone service company Xfinity/Comcast, focusing on the theme of ‘togetherness’.
The three-and-a-half minute clip, which premiered on Thanksgiving Day, sees the 58-year-old Office star in the full white beard and red suit getup, as he corrals his elf colleagues via videoconference to help come up with new gift concepts to cap off this ‘harder than ever’ year.
From Dunder Mifflin to Santa Claus: Steve Carell plays a stressed-out Santa who is ‘out of ideas’ after a tough year in a new holiday ad for telephone service company Xfinity/Comcast
Titled ‘The Greatest Gift’, the snippet starts off with various elves as they answer the Zoom-style conference call from SC, or, Santa Claus.
‘Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! Good morning, every— you know what, I can’t even fake it,’ Steve begins, doing his best Michael Scott.
‘Look, after the year we just had, the usual gifts just are not gonna cut it. We have to find something else and fast. That’s all, figure it out. Good luck,’ Santa/Carell continues, before hanging up.
Festive: The three-and-a-half minute clip premiered on Thanksgiving Day
A new age: The ad sees the Office star (center) in the full white beard and red suit getup, as he corrals his elf colleagues via videoconference to help come up with new gift concepts
And so begins the elves’ mad rush to brainstorm new gift ideas, worthy of ending 2020 on a high note.
At one point, one elf picks up a copy of The Polar Gazette newspaper, which shows off the headline ‘Santa out of ideas’.
The elf looks up, to see a bunch of elven children engaged in a fun snowball fight.
Exercising elf: And so begins the elves’ mad rush to brainstorm new gift ideas, worthy of ending 2020 on a high note
At one point: One elf looks up from his copy of The Polar Gazette newspaper to see a bunch of elven children engaged in a fun snowball fight
And then it hits him: creating gifts of togetherness for the holiday season.
As the song Dreamer by Roger Hodgson plays, Santa’s Little helpers get to work boxing up all sorts of magical holiday moments, from ‘family snowball fights’ and ‘smell of grandma’s cooking’ to ‘aunties cheek squeezes’ and ‘grandpa’s same old stories’.
At first, Steve’s Santa remains unconvinced.
And then it hits him: Creating gifts of togetherness for the holiday season
At first: Steve’s Santa remains unconvinced
But soon, it all comes together with the help of drones delivering all the festive packages to Santa’s sleigh.
‘This year has been harder than ever,’ says Carell’s Claus at the end of the ad, ‘and yet somehow you all found a way to pull it off. You reminded us it’s not all about the toys, the ornaments… it’s about the little things.’
And in a statement to Variety, Steve echoed that sentiment:
‘The holidays are really about moments of togetherness with the people you love, and serve as a reminder for what’s most important, especially given the hardships of this past year. I hope that this sweet little story will bring a bit of cheer.’
But soon: It all comes together with the help of drones delivering all the festive packages to Santa’s sleigh
‘This year has been harder than ever,’ says Carell’s Claus at the end of the ad, ‘and yet somehow you all found a way to pull it off. You reminded us it’s not all about the toys, the ornaments… it’s about the little things’