Grocery chain rails against holiday commercialism … in holiday commercial

Christmas commercials are probably about the last place you'd expect to see a morality tale about the ills of holiday materialism run amok.

Yet that's the message delivered in a bold new ad from German grocery chain Edeka.

And it works surprisingly well.

Backed by a voiceover of rhyming verses, the ad follows a couple as they scramble to prepare for Christmas. Along the way, they seem to spurn their despondent kids, who only want to spend time with them.

"Still need stuff from every store. Still need to do so, so much more," a translated version of the narrator's poem reads. "Still need to bake the coolest cakes. Still need to trudge through the markets 'til I ache."

But two thirds of the way through the video, the parents have a change of heart. Now they're goofing around with the kids as the dishes sit unwashed and the laundry piled in a messy heap.

"One thing that makes it worthwhile," the narrator concludes. "That's being here for you my child."

While holiday consumerism might seem a strange target for a big corporation, the closing shot of the family enjoying themselves around a Christmas feast brings the brand's ultimate message home.

The supermarket is no stranger to throwing people for a loop. Last year, it ran a viral holiday ad in which a grandfather faked his own death that turned out to be unexpectedly poignant -- if not entirely believable.