Strange New TV Commercial Turns Santa Claus Into a Gay Man
Santa Claus has gotten a makeover as a gay man in a commercial put out by the Norwegian postal service.
The holiday advertisement is called “When Harry Met Santa,” a reference to the classic romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally.”
The ad came out on Monday and already has over 1 million views on YouTube.
The four-minute commercial begins with a shirtless man stumbling upon Santa delivering presents to his living room. The two stare at each other in surprise before Santa whisks up the chimney.
The man is then shown celebrating the holidays, but his mind is clearly elsewhere. He attends a children’s choir concert in a church and smiles as they sing a Christmas hymn.
He catches Santa again, this time gazing at a picture of him on the mantle.
Then he sprays on some cologne, fixes his hair and falls asleep on the couch waiting for Santa. He is woken up by Santa telling him, “You’re snoring.”
The men smile at each other before Santa says, “I’ll be back next year.”
They are shown spending time together in the man’s living room one day every year. When Santa has to leave to deliver presents, the man cries in his room.
The man finally writes a letter to Santa saying, “All I want for Christmas is you.”
Later, he opens his door and gets a mail delivery of Christmas presents. When he walks back inside, confused that the packages were mailed instead of delivered by Santa, Santa is standing in his living room.
“Well, I arranged some help this year so I can be with you,” Santa explains. The two men then kiss tenderly.
The commercial ends with the message, “In 2022, Norway marks 50 years of being able to love whoever we want.” The country decriminalized homosexuality in 1971.
According to NBC News, the ad has been met with “overwhelming” positive feedback in Norway. The Norwegian postal service told NBC that its goal was to “show love has no limits.”
Norway has been known for decades for having some of the world’s most progressive LGBT policies.
Same-sex civil unions were legalized there in 1993 and gay marriage in 2009, according to Pew Research. The Church of Norway began sanctioning same-sex weddings in 2017.
The gay Santa commercial has gotten worldwide attention.
Randall Garrison, a member of the Canadian Parliament, called it a “strong and moving message of inclusion” on Twitter.
Ok I’m breaking my no Xmas before December rule to thank Posten Norge for this strong and moving message of inclusion celebrating 50 years since the decriminalization of homosexuality in Norway. https://t.co/Sl7StxQ6Gm
— Randall Garrison (@r_garrison) November 23, 2021
Not all of the feedback to the ad has been positive.
Life in Norway reported that RT, a Russian state-controlled television network, criticized the hijacking of Santa Claus “to suit woke causes.”
While the ad has 20,000 likes on YouTube, the number of dislikes has been withheld due to a recent policy change by the tech giant.
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