Even Santa’s been having a weird year.
Steve Carell plays Santa Claus in an Xfinity commercial from our parent company Comcast that debuted during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it’s the Christmas ad we need in 2020.
In the commercial, called "The Greatest Gift," Santa has clearly gotten used to working from home and not wearing real pants.
In a Zoom meeting with his elves, he tries to kick off the call with a cheerful “Ho, ho, ho!” but soon gives up.
“You know what, I can’t even fake it,” he says. “Look, after the year we’ve just had, the usual gifts are just not going to cut it. So we have to find something else, and fast.”
His elves — also working from home, of course — scramble to figure out what gifts people need this year, and they decide it’s experiences and memories, like “Family Snowball Fights” and “Auntie’s Cheek Squeezes.”
The ad is full of all-too-real 2020 scenarios, like when Mrs. Claus accidentally interrupts Santa’s Zoom call in a bathrobe, or when Santa shares a heartwarming message of thanks with his elves, only to discover he’s been on mute the whole time.
The internet has been loving the funny commercial.
“I don't know who this is directed towards but please start making a 'Steve Carell as Santa' movie ASAP,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
Another Twitter user proposed a brilliant title for any forthcoming Steve Carell Christmas movie.
“Steve Carell needs to be in Christmas movies," the fan wrote. "I present...Steve Carell is (Scrooge) in ‘A Christmas Carell.’”
Others appreciated how perfect the ad is for the times.
“Steve Carell as Santa Claus is what 2020 needs,” one Twitter user said.
“I may or may not have just cried seeing the Santa Steve Carell ad,” another wrote. “That’s how much this year has broken me.”
Steve Carell isn’t the only Hollywood star to play Santa on TV this year. John Travolta also played St. Nick in a fun holiday commercial for Capital One, joined by his “Pulp Fiction” co-star, Samuel L. Jackson.