The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2020
DocMorris's product-free Christmas film 'Take Care' twists a kettlebell — 147m views
An online pharmacy's Christmas film shows an old man mysteriously training with a kettlebell — the reveal: he did it all for his granddaughter.
DocMorris
What it had to solve
DocMorris, an online pharmacy with a history of controversial headlines as a competitive player, was seen as impersonal — and had to earn trust with people's health at stake during a time of crisis.
How it works
DocMorris arrived at Christmas 2020 as an online pharmacy with a history of controversial headlines — competitive, aggressive and, in the public mind, somewhat impersonal. At a moment when people were anxious about their health, the brand needed to be trusted, not just cheaper.
Markenfilm Hamburg's answer was a Christmas film with no product in it at all. An elderly man wakes early, dusts off a kettlebell and starts what looks like a rejuvenating fitness routine — until the ending reveals he did it all for his granddaughter.
The twist converts the brand's promise into a feeling: DocMorris cares about the moments health makes possible. The film gathered over 147 million views worldwide and global media attention, making the ad itself the proof of trust.
Why it lands
- Removing the product removes the sales resistance: there is nothing to argue with, only a story to feel.
- The kettlebell routine is a deliberate misdirection that pays off in the last seconds, so the ad is built to be watched to the end and shared.
- Setting care inside a Christmas family story gives an impersonal digital pharmacy the emotional register of a neighbor, not a retailer.
- Health claims would have been suspicious from this brand; an unspoken act of love cannot be argued with.
What it did
The spot spread far beyond DocMorris's markets, passing 147 million views worldwide and drawing global media attention to a brand better known for controversy than warmth.
What you can take
For a brand distrusted as cold and transactional, sell nothing: a story about care, with no product in frame, lets people feel the value before any claim is made.
Since then
The D&AD entry records the film passing 147 million views with global media attention, making 'Take Care' DocMorris's breakthrough brand moment. It marked the pharmacy's turn from a bare-knuckle price competitor into a brand willing to spend its biggest stage of the year on care alone.
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