British retailer John Lewis’ Christmas ad, long considered the unofficial start of the holiday season in the U.K., goes in a different direction this year by depicting an everyday, familial kind of festive magic.
On Thursday (Nov. 14), John Lewis released “The Gifting Hour,” the second Christmas campaign by agency Saatchi & Saatchi, which took over the account from adam&eveDDB in 2023.
The nostalgic ad is a tale of two sisters. When a woman visits a John Lewis store in a frantic search for a last-minute Christmas gift for her sister, she stumbles through a magical portal that takes her on a journey through memories of the siblings.
There are surreal elements in the film, directed by famed music video and commercial director Francois Rousselet, as the woman recalls moments with her sister through the lens of childhood and adolescence. She ends back in the real world, having finally decided on the right gift, and meets her sister outside the store.
The concluding line says: “The secret to finding the perfect gift? Knowing where to look.”
For the first time this year, John Lewis created a three-part ad series culminating with this Christmas spot.
The first instalment, which debuted in September, revived the brand’s longtime tagline, “Never knowingly undersold,” and used the store window as a visual metaphor for John Lewis’ evolution over the past century.
Part two, released earlier this month, was a product-focused spot showcasing the retailer’s top 100 gifts of the season and reminding customers to “Give knowingly.”
The final part of the trilogy spotlights the giver, empathizing with the stressful process of thoughtful gifting, said Charlotte Lock, customer director for John Lewis. In another first for its Christmas advertising, the store takes a starring role in the commercial.
There are a few other brand departures in this year’s campaign.
John Lewis is known for soundtracking its ads with covers of classic songs, but this year’s track is an original: 1998’s Sonnet by English rock band The Verve. The 1990s song choice is intentional to reflect the era when the sisters grew up, Lock said.
As part of the campaign, John Lewis will conduct a nationwide search via TikTok for an undiscovered talent to cover Sonnet and perform the song during a special airing of the ad on Christmas. The Verve lead singer Richard Ashcroft and a panel of judges will select the winner, who will receive a professional recording session, their cover single released by music publisher BMG, a John Lewis shopping spree, and tickets to an Ashcroft show in 2025.
Finding truth in advertising
Another major shift is the brand’s tone of voice, which has evolved to be more human, said Saatchi & Saatchi chief creative officer Franki Goodwin.
“We wanted to start thinking about the customer, our audience and the journeys they go on as people,” she said.
Previous John Lewis Christmas ads have employed magical, emotional storytelling, and featured cuddly anthropomorphic characters from a penguin to a dragon to a monster who lives under the bed. Saatchi & Saatchi’s Christmas debut for John Lewis last year depicted a playful Venus flytrap.
This year’s film retains a fantastical and imaginative quality, but the focus is on a real, human relationship, said Lock.
“We’re telling stories that are relatable and finding real truth in advertising,” she continued. “We need our customers to see themselves and know what we’re there for.”
The blockbuster days are over
Starting with its 2011 Christmas ad, “The Long Wait,” by former agency adam&eveDDB, John Lewis carved out a notable space in British advertising for building anticipation and attracting widespread public interest, becoming tabloid fodder and headline news in national media.
However, this year’s trilogy signals a shift in the advertising landscape. John Lewis’ strategy follows a trend of other retailers, including Walmart and Target in the U.S., that have ditched the single blockbuster spot in favor of episodic series or multiple campaigns to capture attention during the busy holiday period.
“In the old days of the Christmas ad, it launched in a big, peak TV moment and was more Super Bowl-esque. It doesn’t work like that anymore,” Lock said, citing factors like declining TV viewing figures, media fragmentation, and the influence of social media.
Last year’s John Lewis Christmas ad received about 100 million views, 50 million of which came from social media before it ever aired on TV, she pointed out.
“Our challenge is to keep the conversation going,” Lock said. “The thing we have to do the most is to be unexpected. Like a movie franchise, if you know what’s coming, it gets boring.”
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