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John Lewis Christmas advert
Screenshot of the 2022 advertisement
AgencyAdamandEveDDB (2019-2022)
Saatchi and Saatchi (2023)
ClientJohn Lewis & Partners
Waitrose & Partners
LanguageEnglish
MediaTelevision
Running time1:30
Release date(s)9 November 2023 (2023-11-09)
CountryUnited Kingdom
Preceded byThe Beginner
Official websiteOfficial Site

The John Lewis Christmas advert is an ongoing television advertising campaign released by British department store chain John Lewis & Partners in the build-up to Christmas.[1] John Lewis & Partners launched their first Christmas advert in 2007. It has since become something of an annual tradition in the UK,[2] and one of the signals that the countdown to Christmas has begun.[3][4][5] The adverts tend to attract widespread media coverage and acclaim upon their release.[6] Between 2019 and 2020, the advert has promoted both John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners.

The songs used in the advertising campaigns are frequently covers (excluding 2018 and 2020) of existing songs by different artists. They have often reached high positions on the UK Singles Chart, and the original versions often receive a sales boost.[7][8] Ellie Goulding, Gabrielle Aplin, Lily Allen, Aurora, Tom Odell and Vaults are among the artists whose music has appeared in a John Lewis Christmas advert.[9][10] In 2018, Sir Elton John became the first artist to perform and star in the advert. In 2021, Lola Young was chosen to cover the 1980s hit "Together in Electric Dreams", with a slowed down arrangement which had alt-folk duo the Portraits accusing the retailer of copying them and their version of the song recorded in 2020.[11]

London-based agency Adam & Eve/DDB have conceived the adverts since 2009.[12] But Saatchi and Saatchi have recently taken on responsibility for the retailer's advertising. The adverts have led to some fierce competition, most notably from Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Boots.[13]

Campaigns

[edit]
No.TitleDirected byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)		Online Viewers
1"Shadows"Michael Gracey[14]December 2007 (2007-12)TBDTBA
Christmas 2007 saw the first John Lewis television advertisement in three years, with a six million pound campaign, their biggest seasonal ad spend up to that point. The commercial did not feature the hallmarks of later campaigns such as an emotional denouement or slowed-down cover version, instead using Prokofiev's morning serenade from Romeo and Juliet. It features presents and products being carefully assembled positioned to eventually create a shadow image of a woman and a dog in the snow, in the style of artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster.
2"Clues"Malcolm VenvilleDecember 2008 (2008-12)TBDTBA
For a second year, Lowe and Partners were the agency behind the John Lewis Christmas ad, a montage of people of all ages and their ideal gifts with the tagline "If you know the person, you'll find the present". Directed by Malcolm Venville,[14] this was the first to feature the now-traditional cover version, with "From Me to You" by the Beatles recorded by unnamed employees of John Lewis. The full track was made available to download for free on the John Lewis website with an encouragement to donate to Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation.
3"The Feeling"Benito Montorio[14]December 2009 (2009-12)TBDTBA
The 2009 advertisement was the first for John Lewis by agency Adam & Eve (now part of DDB Worldwide), who went on to create the subsequent Christmas campaigns. Featuring a cover of the Guns N' Roses song "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Taken by Trees, the commercial features young children opening gifts usually given to adults such as a coffee machine and a laptop. With the tagline "Remember how Christmas used to feel", the final scene shows a girl unwrapping a camera and becoming a woman.
4"A Tribute to Givers"Eric Lynne[14]December 2010 (2010-12)TBDTBA
Ellie Goulding's cover of the Elton John song "Your Song" was the soundtrack to a collection of images showing people preparing gifts for their loved ones. Most notably, two parents attempt to secretly carry a rocking horse up some stairs whilst their children watch television. The advert concludes with a boy taking a stocking of presents outside to his pet dog in the snow, and hanging it on the kennel.
5"The Long Wait"Dougal Wilson[14]December 2011 (2011-12)TBD8.23
Featuring The Smiths song "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" sung by Slow Moving Millie, the 2011 advert, the first of many directed by Dougal Wilson, featured a little boy impatiently counting down the days to Christmas. On Christmas Eve, he wolfs down his dinner and goes to bed early in preparation for the next day. When he awakes on Christmas morning, the little boy jumps out of bed, runs straight past a large pile of presents at the bottom of his bed and heads for the wardrobe. He then wanders into his parents bedroom, waking them to give them the gift he wrapped himself and had been waiting to give them.
6"The Journey"Dougal Wilson[14]December 2012 (2012-12)TBD6.9
Using 20-year-old Gabrielle Aplin's version of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood classic "The Power of Love", the 2012 advert showed a snowman who traversed fields, a river, a mountain to obtain a perfect Christmas gift for Mrs. Snowman. The advert was very quickly followed up by a children's picture book which was hastily written and published immediately after the advert's first screening. The song was the first song from the John Lewis Christmas adverts to be a UK Singles Chart number one.
7"The Bear and the Hare"Elliot Dear and Yves Geleyn[17]December 2013 (2013-12)TBD17.2
Set to a cover of Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" by British singer Lily Allen, the 2013 campaign featured an array of woodland animals in a classical Disney style and setting. The full advert lasted 2 minutes, and was made with 2D animation. It told the story of a bear hibernating before Christmas, before being persuaded to wake up by the titular hare to see Christmas in all its splendour. The accompanying music quickly rose to the top of the UK Singles Chart, doing so twice more in later weeks.[15] A portion of the song's sales earnings were donated to Save the Children's Philippine Typhoon Appeal campaign.[16]
8"Monty the Penguin"Dougal Wilson[19]7 November 2014 (2014-11-07)N/A27.57
In their press release ahead of the 2014 campaign launch, John Lewis stated that the strapline for the advert was "Give someone the Christmas they've been wishing for". They added that "the heartwarming advert tells the tale of an unlikely friendship between a little boy Sam and his penguin friend Monty."[1] British singer-songwriter Tom Odell recorded a cover for the advert of the 1977 John Lennon song "Real Love", which was the last official song recorded by the Beatles after being released in 1996, prior to another being released in 2023.[18]
9"The Man on the Moon"Kim Gehrig[24]6 November 2015 (2015-11-06)N/A29.99
Featuring a cover of Oasis' 1994 B-side "Half the World Away", sung by Norwegian singer Aurora,[20] the 2015 campaign tells the story of a young girl trying to contact an old man spotted living alone on the Moon. Her attempts to catch the man's attention fail until she sends him a special delivery of a telescope, via hot-air balloon, and the man finally gets to see Earth on Christmas night.[21] The strapline for the advert is "Show someone they're loved this Christmas", with the company teaming up with the charity Age UK.[22] The advert, the first of the brand's Christmastime commercials that was directed by a woman – Kim Gehrig –, is estimated to have cost around £7 million.[23]
10"Buster the Boxer"Dougal Wilson[29]10 November 2016 (2016-11-10)N/A27.9
The music for the 2016 campaign is a cover of Randy Crawford's "One Day I'll Fly Away", performed by English electronica band Vaults. The Dougal Wilson-directed[25] advert was released on Thursday 10 November and made its TV debut at 9.15pm on ITV. The adverts follows the story of a young girl, several wild animals and a Boxer dog named Buster. On Christmas eve, the young girl's father builds a trampoline in the garden, only for two foxes and a badger to begin jumping on the trampoline, later joined by two squirrels and a hedgehog. As the animals play, Buster watches from the living room. On Christmas Day, the girl runs down the stairs and into the garden to find the trampoline, only for Buster to leap onto it and do some jumping himself.[26] It was reported that the advert cost £1 million to make, £6 million cheaper than last year's advert.[27] A portion of the soft toy animals sales earnings were donated to The Wildlife Trusts.[28]
11"Moz the Monster"Michel Gondry10 November 2017 (2017-11-10)N/A10.29

The Michel Gondry-helmed[30] advert features a cover of The Beatles' "Golden Slumbers", performed by the band Elbow. It tells the story of a boy who is afraid of the dark, and a monster named Moz who lives under his bed. Scared of the dark, the boy looks under his bed one night to find that Moz is resting there. Although the child is at first scared, then irritated by the monster's antics, the two very quickly become friends, although the boy quickly begins to become tired in the day due to playing with Moz at night. That Christmas, the child finds a gift under the tree that his family don't seem to recognise. Opening it, he finds a nightlight. When the nightlight is on, he can't see his new friend any more, but once he turns it off, he realises that Moz is still there after all.

Following its premiere, author Chris Riddell accused John Lewis of plagiarizing elements of the advert from his 1986 children's book Mr Underbed. Citing the similar themes of a child befriending a fluffy monster who lived under their bed, he stated that it was "very generous of John Lewis to devote their Christmas advertising campaign to my 1986 picture book... in this age of shrinking publicity budgets". John Lewis defended the accusations, stating that the respective storylines of both works were "utterly different" (with the ad focusing primarily on the friendship between Moz and the child, and Mr Underbed having a child discover other creatures who lived in his room), and that monsters under the bed were a common concept that had been the subject of numerous works. The controversy heightened demand for the book, with copies of Mr Underbed quickly selling out from stores.[31][32]
12"The Boy & The Piano[37]"Seb Edwards[38]15 November 2018 (2018-11-15)N/A6.65

Beginning with Elton John playing the opening notes of "Your Song", he then reminisces about his life and career in reverse, eventually culminating with Christmas Day in the 1950s when he received a piano for Christmas from his mother.

As a teaser for the advert, ITV changed the theme tunes on several of its programmes to piano arrangements prior to its premiere, and some John Lewis & Partners stores hid the "Lewis" from their signage to leave only "John".[33][34][35] In 2019, the commercial won the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial.[36]
13"Excitable Edgar"Dougal Wilson[39]14 November 2019 (2019-11-14)N/ATBA
Edgar, a young dragon, is so excited about Christmas that he cannot control the flames from his mouth. He even burns the village Christmas tree, dampening everyone's Christmas spirit. But when his best friend Ava gives him a thoughtful gift just right for an excitable dragon, he realises how much she cares for him. The advert features Bastille covering REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" with the London Contemporary Orchestra.
14"Give A Little Love"Unknown13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)N/A2.01
A young boy gave some love in a snow-heart to a snowman, who passed the happiness onto a snowman-couple with a missing tyre, by taking its middle body out, transforming it into a heart-balloon. A little love is slowly spread from person to person throughout the video. "A little love" refers to the small things each person does in the video. The advert features a song titled "A Little Love". Written and recorded by Celeste, this is the first instance of a song being commissioned specifically for the Christmas campaign, rather than a cover of an existing track.
15"An Unexpected Guest"Unknown4 November 2021 (2021-11-04)3.1TBA
A boy called Nathan notices an object fall from the sky whilst on a bus. He gets off his bus and runs into the forest to spot a spaceship and an alien called Skye. He runs away before eventually showing her his light up Christmas jumper. He then goes on to show many staples of Christmas; Christmas trees, mince pies, light up displays. Later on, he notices an electromagnetic pulse and runs back to the forest, where he sees Skye about to leave. He gives her his jumper and she kisses him. The advert features a cover of the Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder song "Together in Electric Dreams" by London pub singer Lola Young.
16"The Beginner"Unknown10 November 2022 (2022-11-10)4.14.1
A man is practising to skate for the first time and always trips up and falls. As he continues to try, the man's wife phones someone telling them that they are looking forward to something. Later on, it is revealed that both have adopted a young girl, Ellie, who was in the care system. Ellie, who has a passion for skateboarding begins bonding with her new dad. The campaign is a partnership with Action for Children and Who Cares Scotland? to raise awareness of children in care. The advert features a cover of Blink-182's song, "All The Small Things" performed by Postmodern Jukebox featuring Mike Geier (under the stage name Puddles Pity Party).
17"Snapper"Unknown9 November 2023 (2023-11-09)N/ATBA
A young boy finds a grow your own "perfect Christmas tree" box at a local market and plants the seed at home and however the plant turns out to be a Venus flytrap named Snapper. The advert features a single from Andrea Bocelli called "Festa".

Official singles

[edit]
Release
date 		Title Artists Peak
position
23 November 2009 (2009-11-23) "Sweet Child o' Mine" Taken by Trees 23
12 November 2010 (2010-11-12) "Your Song" Ellie Goulding 2
11 November 2011 (2011-11-11) "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" Slow Moving Millie 31
9 November 2012 (2012-11-09) "The Power of Love" Gabrielle Aplin 1
10 November 2013 (2013-11-10) "Somewhere Only We Know" Lily Allen 1
6 November 2014 (2014-11-06) "Real Love" Tom Odell 7
6 November 2015 (2015-11-06) "Half the World Away" Aurora 11
10 November 2016 (2016-11-10) "One Day I'll Fly Away" Vaults 53
10 November 2017 (2017-11-10) "Golden Slumbers" Elbow 29
8 February 1971 (1971-02-08)[a] "Your Song" Elton John 7
19 November 2019 (2019-11-19) "Can't Fight This Feeling" Bastille 39
13 November 2020 (2020-11-13) "A Little Love" Celeste 59
4 November 2021 (2021-11-04) "Together in Electric Dreams" Lola Young DNC[b]
17 April 2017 (2017-04-17)[c] "All the Small Things" Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox feat. Puddles Pity Party DNC[d]
9 November 2023 (2023-11-09) "Festa" Andrea Bocelli TBA

Awards

[edit]

John Lewis was honoured at the 2012 IPA Effectiveness Awards for their campaigns up to that point. They were awarded the top prize which is awarded to companies "showcasing and rewarding campaigns that demonstrate their marketing payback".[42]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Released before 2018 Christmas advert.
  2. ^ Did not chart on Official Singles Chart but reached No. 7 on Official Single Sales Chart.[40]
  3. ^ Released before 2022 Christmas advert.
  4. ^ Did not chart on Official Singles Chart but reached No. 52 on Official Single Sales Chart.[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Monty's Christmas" (Press release). John Lewis Partnership. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. ^ Wallop, Harry (5 November 2014). "John Lewis adverts from Christmas past". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  3. ^ Stone, Jason (12 November 2013). "John Lewis Christmas ads: how they evolved from 2007 to 2013". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  4. ^ Sherwin, Adam (6 November 2014). "John Lewis Christmas advert: It's sickly, sweet and surprisingly potent". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  5. ^ Wallop, Harry (6 November 2014). "It's funny how John Lewis Christmas Advert is now part of our Christmas countdown". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  6. ^ Hobbs, Thomas (10 November 2016). "The John Lewis Christmas ad: Marketers react". Marketing Week. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  7. ^ Welsh, Daniel (6 November 2014). "John Lewis Christmas advert 2014: Best and Funniest Twitter Reactions to #MontyThePenguin". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  8. ^ Cheetham, Joshua (10 November 2017). "Christmas ad spend 'to hit record high'". BBC News. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Sob! All the John Lewis Christmas adverts. Which one is your favourite?". Now. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  10. ^ Wallop, Harry (6 November 2014). "7 Things You Need to Know About the John Lewis Christmas Advert 2014". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  11. ^ "John Lewis accused of copying arrangement of Electric Dreams for Christmas ad". TheGuardian.com. 11 November 2021.
  12. ^ "World's most creative partnerships: John Lewis & Adam & Eve/DDB". Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  13. ^ "The best Christmas 2016 adverts". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "John Lewis Christmas ads through the years: How does the new ad compare?". Thedrum.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Revealed: What is the John Lewis Christmas advert song and who sings it?". The Daily Telegraph. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  17. ^ "John Lewis "the bear and the hare" by Adam & Eve/DDB". Campaignlive.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Christmas! John Lewis's annual gift to the music industry!". The Guardian. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Director - The Frank Budgen Award: Monty's Christmas - British Arrows". British Arrows. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  20. ^ "The Man on the Moon: Everything you need to know about the John Lewis ad". The Daily Telegraph. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  21. ^ "John Lewis Christmas Advert 2015: watch the Man on the Moon". The Independent. 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  22. ^ "John Lewis team up with Age UK for the most heartbreaking Christmas advert yet". The Sunday Post. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  23. ^ "The Man on the Moon: Everything you need to know about the John Lewis ad". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  24. ^ "Ad of the Day: John Lewis Cheers Up the Man on the Moon in Lovely Christmas Ad". Adweek.com. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Buster The Boxer - British Arrows". British Arrows. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  26. ^ "John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016 - Buster The Boxer". John Lewis. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  27. ^ White, Jack (7 November 2016). "This year's John Lewis Christmas advert will be a cover of One Day I'll Fly Away performed by Vaults". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Celebrating our wildlife | The Wildlife Trusts". Wildlifetrusts.org. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  29. ^ "'Buster the Boxer' Bounces into Christmas for John Lewis". Adage.com. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  30. ^ Butler, Sarah; Sweney, Mark (10 November 2017). "John Lewis Christmas ad 2017: watch the video of Moz the monster". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  31. ^ "Mr Underbed sells out after John Lewis ad". BBC News. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  32. ^ Flood, Alison (20 November 2017). "John Lewis plagiarism row gives Christmas sales boost to Mr Underbed". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  33. ^ "Viewers convinced piano intros point to Sir Elton and John Lewis ad". Independent.ie. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  34. ^ "ITV honours John Lewis Christmas advert in very unique way". Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  35. ^ Clark, Jessica (15 November 2018). "John Lewis reveals Christmas advert featuring Elton John". CityAM.com. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  36. ^ "Making Elton John Young Again". VFX Voice. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  37. ^ Frost, Katie (15 November 2018). "The John Lewis Christmas advert 2018 has FINALLY arrived – and it stars Elton John". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  38. ^ "The Making of the Boy and the Piano". johnlewis.com. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  39. ^ "John Lewis and Waitrose's Christmas ad stars overexcited dragon Edgar". Campaign. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  40. ^ "Together In Electric Dreams - Lola Young". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  41. ^ "All The Small Things - Scott Bradlee & Postmodern". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  42. ^ Briggs, Fiona (29 October 2012). "John Lewis campaign awarded Grand Prix in top industry advertising awards". Retail Times. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
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