“This year’s program of ads demonstrates new tech innovations, new styles of coping and interacting with one another, and glimpses at different futures,” says British Arrows co-chair Jani Guest in an introduction to this year’s showcase of outstanding U.K. advertisements. In other words, brace yourself. We’re on a wild, worrisome ride, and it won’t be over any time soon.

This weekend, the British Arrows return to the Walker Art Center after last year’s virtual program, marking the continuation of one of the Twin Cities’ most distinctive holiday traditions. Virtual screenings are also available this year, but even at this writing a couple of in-person screenings have already sold out, suggesting that many Minnesotans are eager for the communal experience of laughing, gasping, and (almost inevitably) crying as U.K. admakers do their darnedest.

The program - which runs 76 minutes this year - is always a rollercoaster of emotion, and this year is no exception. Guest calls the program a “year-end time capsule,” and cracking this capsule reveals a world in crisis. There’s a distinct undercurrent of unease roiling spots like an Operation Black Vote clip putting U.K. politicians’ toxic statements into the mouths of ordinary Britons and an almost overwhelming short film about the state of the world in the last days before Brexit. Even an elaborate video of a couple escaping a metaphorically collapsing house feels less like a Lacoste ad (which, weirdly, it is) than a portrait of the unease that now fills formerly safe havens.

Did I mention the animated story about the world’s most adorable dragon? Or the dry gin pitch from the droll Sipsmith swan? Or the grime-rapping tchotchkes who urge an IKEA run? Yes, those are there too. So are the ads for products that are truly foreign to Midwesterners - like Marmite, which tries hypnosis to sell its distinctive yeast spread. A set of middle-aged brothers celebrate the love of their late mother who stipulated they spend their entire inheritance on the Six Nations. Huh? (It’s a rugby championship.)

Even in turbulent times, it’s inspiring to see the creativity U.K. creatives put into their work, and the ads have messages that go far beyond buy, buy, buy - though that is, of course, the general gist. A leonine saga set to “Born Free” turns into a gut punch (I’ll let you discover for yourself exactly why), and a chronicle of women’s sporting triumphs turns “just do it” into more than just a Nike slogan.

This year’s program also celebrates the enduring appeal of the ‘80s drum fill, in a joyful Argos ad in which a dad and his daughter hit the skins to the tune of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” From the curators who ensured we didn’t miss the iconic Cadbury’s gorilla, it’s a welcome addition to the pantheon.

For more great ideas about ways to spend the season, follow our coverage of 89 Days of Winter.