A Holiday to Remember

The holidays are bittersweet in Chevrolet’s 2023 film about a family impacted by Alzheimer’s. The five-minute short film centers on a grandmother, or “Grams,” in early stages of the disease. At the Christmas gathering surrounded by loved ones, she doesn’t even recognize her husband. But after her clever granddaughter decides to take her on a nostalgic tour through town in the family’s 1972 Suburban, with a John Denver classic playing on 8-track, the story takes an uplifting turn.

The film was inspired by a real truth about “reminiscence therapy” and how classic automobiles and music can bring moments of clarity to those with Alzheimer’s. We partnered with Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”) to bring the idea to life. Authentic representation was paramount and every part of the production was in service of telling a truthful Alzheimer’s story that real people could relate to. To play Grams, we found an actress who herself experiences some cognitive decline, we worked hand in hand with the Alzheimer’s Association and leaned into the tenets of reminiscence therapy. Even the cinematography sought to replicate the experience of Grams as she gained clarity. We carefully chose the soundtrack, John Denver’s “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” as an an ode to Grams’ experience.

Truth Well Told: The film went against the grain of “best practices” list—it’s long, there’s no logo up front, it has a slow build, it isn’t shot 9:16 and doesn’t “work in 6 seconds.” It’s completely the opposite of what we’re told is “what people want to watch,” but its reach exceeded 8.5 million engagements and over 60 million impressions on social—all organic with over 22 million views on Facebook alone. It was the most shared holiday content in Brazil and the U.S. in 2023, with over 700,000 shares in the U.S. It also got coverage across mainstream outlets including USA Today, Huff Post and Forbes.