A Small Town Sparks a Light Across the World in Erste Bank's Christmas Ad

Erste Group, the financial services company, celebrates the true story of the Christmas carol 'Silent Night' in an inspiring three-minute film created by Jung von Matt Donau, reminding audiences that anyone and everyone can be the spark that changes the world.

Called 'Silent Night', the Christmas advert takes us back to the Austrian village of Oberndorf in the winter of 1818, where we meet a young man who sees his neighbours struggling with poverty and hunger and is inspired to find a way of bringing them some warmth and hope.

That man turns out to be Joseph Mohr, the little town’s priest who, along with his friend, the music teacher Franz Xaver Gruber, composes a song on Christmas Eve 1818. They called it 'Silent Night' and performed it on the same evening at the Christmas mass. This humble gesture would not only touch the hearts of people in the small village, but around the world for decades, even centuries to come.

Jung von Matt’s film explores with great historical accuracy how, from its very first performance by Mohr and Gruber in a small rural church, “Silent Night” has been passed down through generations and reached every corner of the earth, to become the world’s most recorded song.

Filled with historic detail, like a replica of Mohr’s guitar and his small room on the first floor, the film truthfully depicts the major milestones of the song from Oberndorf that travelled around the world: In 1822, a Tyrolean choir performed it in front of the Austrian Emperor Franz I. In 1906, 'Silent Night' was played on the violin by Reginald Fessenden during the first-ever radio entertainment broadcast in America. In 1914, the song brought a brief but powerful moment of peace during World War I. On the Western Front, German and English soldiers sang it together, bridging the enemy trenches. The song even reached space – in 1973, “Silent Night” was broadcast to the crew of the Skylab 4 Space Station. 

Today, 'Silent Night' is the most recorded song in the world, with over 130,000 versions in more than 300 languages.

Erste Group and Jung von Matt have been working in partnership for 10 years, and introduced the Believe in Yourself platform, known as #glaubandich in German, in 2017. The brand’s Christmas campaigns have become an annual tradition after the viral success of their inaugural effort, the 2018 animated film 'Henry Hedgehog'. 'Silent Night' marks a new era for this tradition, both because it introduces the first live-action Christmas film and also by telling a true historical story.

Mike Nagy, ECD and partner at Jung von Matt Donau, said, “We’re thrilled to share the remarkable story of Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr with the world this Christmas. Their journey is a testament to the power of two individuals who believed that a simple song could inspire hope and change the world for the better.”

“Everyone can contribute to building a society full of hope. Even a small gesture can achieve something great – as the story of 'Silent Night' proves," says Nina Pentek, head of group brand management and communications at Erste Group. She adds, "Every year, with our Christmas spots, we want to encourage people to believe in  themselves. This year, we do so in telling a story in a particularly authentic way." 

'Silent Night' was developed in collaboration with the Silent Night Society, which provided valuable insights and milestones of the song’s history. It was directed by Daniel & Szymon through Arts & Sciences.

The campaign breaks on 19th November, running across key Erste markets of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania. Along with the television campaign, it will run in print and digital/social channels.