Starting in late November, Chick-fil-A launched a campaign called “Together Time,” an initiative the Atlanta-based chain has promoted with an inspiring, two-minute “Time Shop” commercial.
At the start of the heartwarming video, a little girl named Sam is eager to go outside in the snow with her family to build a snowman. Her family, though, is none too interested. Sam’s dad is busy on the phone, her mom is working on her laptop, and her brother is consumed by video games.
Left to her lonesome, Sam is greeted by two whimsical cats — Tick and Tock — who guide her inside a large grandfather clock sitting in the downstairs hallway of her home, a moment reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
Inside the clock, Sam finds an old man reminiscent of Santa Claus who tells her all about “lost time,” “time that flies,” as well as the best time of all, “together time,” because it “can make memories that last forever,” he told the young girl.
“I wish my family could understand,” replied Sam, downtrodden.
The clock maker then handed the little girl a red envelope and told her, “Sometimes, people just need a little reminder.” He then sent her on her way.
“Guess what!” Sam told her parents when she returned home. “Cats took me to a time shop with lots of mini clocks and cuckoos, lost time and time that flies, and all kinds of time. And here, the kind you give.”
She then handed the red envelope to her parents and her brother Zack. At the end of the scene, viewers see the card, which read, “1 hour to make the best snowman ever,” from “The Time Shop.”
For good measure, Chick-fil-A added a little something to remind viewers the video was made by the Christian-owned business. As Sam rushed out of the clock worker’s space, the camera showed the shop door, which held a sign that read, “Closed Sunday.”
Chick-fil-A has really tapped into something with the ad. According to a national survey commissioned by the restaurant, 73 percent of respondents said they would like more time together with the people they care about. In addition, 93 percent said quality time together is the most important part of creating holiday memories — surpassing food, parties, decorations, and Christmas music.
For a limited time, to help promote the campaign, Chick-fil-A is hosting a pop-up in the heart of New York City, where families can enter the make believe world in which Sam found herself.