Christmas advertising is deliberately amongst the most ‘magical’ out there, and this year, the story is about a determined snowman that stops at nothing to find the perfect gift for a character whose identity is only made clear at the end of the advert.
The tag line is ‘Give a little more love this Christmas’, which is nice and cuddly sounding, and the sumptuous winter scenes are enough to fool you that it’s Christmas Eve already. Although it does feature a heavily autotuned version of ‘The Power of Love’ originally by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, which is rather odd.
John Lewis’ marketing director, Craig Inglis, said: ‘We know that our customers put real effort and emotion into finding the perfect gift for their loved ones at Christmas. This year’s ad brings that to life, with a creative twist, as we follow our hero on an epic journey.’ Anyone who has tried negotiating a John Lewis store at 6pm on December 24 knows all about epic Christmas journeys...
The ad is in stark contrast with sister company Waitrose (part of the John Lewis partnership), which opted for a minimalist approach. Its advert takes the mickey out of expensively produced epic Christmas ads, saying that its production budget is going to charity instead.
Between them they seem to have all the bases covered.
Watch the John Lewis one. Watch the Waitrose one.
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