Homecoming / #heimkommen

Read the campaign story

EDEKA’s 2015 Christmas film used an extreme fictional situation to ask viewers to make time for family. An older man repeatedly spends the holiday alone, then stages news of his own death to bring his children home. The reunion reveals the deception and leads toward a shared celebration. The One Club campaign record credits Jung von Matt Hamburg and director Alex Feil; contemporary reporting dates the public conversation to late November 2015.

The brand connection is the meal as a reason to gather, rather than a catalogue of discounted groceries. The campaign record describes online, television and cinema distribution, with a broader invitation to discuss coming home. These are documented campaign elements. Claims that the film actually reunited families are promotional assertions in the award entry, not independently measured outcomes in the evidence reviewed here.

Editorial reading: The story creates urgency by briefly removing the possibility of a future visit. Viewers are encouraged to reinterpret postponement as a choice with consequences. That makes the eventual table scene emotionally loaded before the retailer’s role becomes explicit. The product category supplies the setting for reconciliation without needing to interrupt the narrative with an offer.

The same mechanism explains the risk. The fictional deception can feel manipulative, especially to people experiencing bereavement, estrangement or difficult family relationships. Contemporary reporting recorded both emotional responses and discomfort. A marketer should not mistake tears or argument for universal approval, and should avoid implying that every family reunion is safe, possible or desirable.

For a smaller brand, the useful exercise is to find a genuine social ritual the category supports. A short story about making room for someone can work without a false-death twist. Develop the emotional tension from a recognisable obstacle and resolve it through a credible action. Review the story with people whose experiences differ from the creative team’s before deciding whether the pressure feels fair.

This case is distinct from EDEKA’s Supergeil music-video work: Homecoming uses narrative suspense and a family ritual, while Supergeil uses absurd performance and product repetition. Neither approach is a reusable guarantee of sharing. Evaluate whether people connect the emotional meaning to the brand and whether the story treats its audience respectfully, rather than equating a large conversation with a proven sales effect.

Locate the category’s human role

A meal can be a social occasion rather than only a product basket.

Pressure-test the emotional device

Consider bereavement, estrangement and other audience experiences.

Separate reaction from effect

Strong emotional discussion does not prove behaviour or sales.

A small test for another brief

Connect grocery retail with the meaning of gathering.

Brand connection, understanding and discomfort signals.

Stop if emotional pressure relies on harmful assumptions about family life.

• Identify a real social ritual supported by the category.
• Write a credible obstacle and resolution.
• Review with audiences who may experience the topic differently.