A touching advertisement for Papadopoulos cookies which was created in honor of the company’s 100th anniversary has gone viral on social media in Greece.
For many Greeks, cookies are synonymous with Papadopoulos, as the country has created some of the most iconic and delicious treats in the country.
The advertisement opens with an ancestor of the Papadopoulos family leaving Istanbul for the port of Piraeus with her young children in 1922, the year of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, and the resulting population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
Before they were forced to leave, the Papadopoulos family had been creating delicious cookies in the basement of their Istanbul home for many years.
While on the arduous journey, the mother unwraps some of the delectable cookies that Papadopoulos is still known for. She offers them to another family on the boat who have left the only home they have ever known due to the war and persecution.
When the family gets off the boat, they are moved by the woman’s generosity and state that they will meet again, but they never do in person. Yet there is still a connection between the family and the kind woman — Papadopoulos cookies.
The advertisement then follows the journey of that family throughout the years, and how Papadopoulos cookies were always present along the way.
Papadopoulos ad shows how iconic cookies remained popular through the years
In the advertisement, it shows how the family, which started out in a small room as part of a small, home-based business, made it through many difficult years of war and sacrifice until they finally were able to enjoy their large, successful business.
In the end, the young daughter from the beginning of the advertisement is shown in the present day as a grandmother in her family’s successful shop. With all of her family around her, she expresses the story about the kindness shown by the Papadopoulos family, a story which her own mother often told.
Then she says, “we never saw them again. I wonder what happened to them?” as a Papadopoulos truck rolls up outside of the business.
While the advertisement follows a fictional family’s story, the family history of many Greeks could be shown in a similar manner.
For many Greeks, Papadopoulos cookies truly have been a constant throughout decades of political and social unrest in the country. The iconic cookies made it through the Nazi Occupation, the Civil War, the Junta, and other monumental events and extremely difficult periods in the country.
Young Greeks can relate to their great-grandparents and their long history of enjoying the delicious cookies, which are beloved by all ages.
The Papadopoulos Company released a statement regarding its history as well as its centennial, along with the ad:
“100 years ago we arrived in Piraeus from Istanbul. We had our entire lives packed in our luggage, as well as all of our love for that which was our lives, the cookie. And if we were traveling with a dream, that dream became reality when we got off that boat. Because we were able to share whatever we brought with us with all of you from the very first moment.
“100 years later, an entire story has been written, a family history that is written from the history of every Greek family. For all the years we lived together, we thank you. Is it possible for an advertisement to move you and make you cry? Yes, it is.
“The Papadopoulos Company and its famous cookies made its history into a short film of just three minutes, without many or unnecessary words, only with images, a film that awakens beautiful feelings and memories.”
Social media users praised the advertisement for not only its high production value, but also for its evocation of great nostalgia. One Twitter user wrote: “Who didn’t grow up with Papadopoulos cookies in this country…the flavors still bring back childhood memories…”
Ποιος δεν έχει μεγαλώσει με τα μπισκότα #παπαδοπουλου σε αυτή την χώρα… γεύσεις που σου φέρνουν ακόμη αναμνήσεις από τα παιδικά χρόνια…
— Ferramenta (@Ferramenta__s) February 3, 2022
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