Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling.
- Edna Ferber
As true as it is, it no longer has to be December for us to sense Christmas. Turning on your radio to hear the popular Jingle Bells song or watching the famous Home Alone movies, you can 'smell' Christmas whenever and wherever you are. Let's make today's reading 'look a lot like Christmas' with the sweet and cozy John Lewis Christmas advert series!
Fig. 1 - Christmas is a feeling
John Lewis Christmas Advert: Overview
First launched in 2007, the John Lewis Christmas advert features a television ad campaign by John Lewis & Partners, the famous British department store chain.
John Lewis Christmas Advert: Company Background
Being formerly known as John Lewis, John Lewis & Partners is a famous UK-based fashion chain of high-end department stores founded in 1864.1
Never Knowingly Undersold
- John Lewis & Partners
This mission statement relates to John Lewis & Partners' long-standing promise of always at least matching a lower price offered by a national high street competitor. In 1864, the company opened the first John Lewis & Partners store on Oxford Street, London. Up to now, there are 35 chain stores throughout Great Britain.1
How many countries have John Lewis & Partners stores and outlets?
Up to now, while the primary market for John Lewis & Partners remains to be Great Britain, the brand has also placed its stores and outlets in five other countries: Ireland, Gibraltar, Chile, Malta, and Peru.1
John Lewis Christmas Advert: Visual Identity
Before 2007, John Lewis & Partners identified its brand asset as their graphic identity assembling the distinctive diagonal motif created by John Lloyd and Jim Northover from the British design consultancy Lloyd Northover in 1990.
In 2007, John Lewis & Partners launched its first John Lewis Christmas Advert, which rapidly won the hearts of audiences and became an annual Christmas celebrating tradition in British culture. Likewise, as time flies, various songs used in the John Lewis Christmas Adverts have become featured on the UK's 'top singles' charts and covered by different global artists.
Which artists' songs have been featured in John Lewis Christmas Adverts?
Be prepared to get surprised by these big stars! They are Elton John, John Lennon, Ellie Goulding, Gabrielle Aplin, Lily Allen, Aurora, Tom Odell, and Vaults, to name just a few.
Curious to find out more about the songs from the John Lewis Christmas adverts? Please don't hesitate to save some to your Christmas playlists!
Famous theme songs of John Lewis Christmas Advert
Some fan-favorite songs from the John Lewis Christmas adverts include From Me to You (2008), Your Song (2010 and 2018), The Power of Love (2012), One Day I'll Fly Away (2016), Can't Fight This Feeling (2019), and A Little Love (2020).
John Lewis Christmas Advert List
Every year, audiences worldwide keep their eyes on the upcoming John Lewis Christmas Advert for the year's Christmas season. Want to join the forces and give it a try? Take a look at the list of John Lewis Christmas Advert throughout the past 15 years:
Shadows (2007)
Clues (2008)
The Feelings (2009)
A Tribute to Givers (2010)
The Long Wait (2011)
The Journey (2012)
The Bear and Hare (2013)
Monty The Penguin (2014)
The Man on The Moon (2015)
Buster for The Boxer (2016)
Moz The Monster (2017)
The Boy & The Piano (2018)
Excitable Edgar (2019)
Give a Little Love (2020)
An Unexpected Guest (2021)
Let's deep dive into the most recent John Lewis Advert from 2021.
In 2021, John Lewis & Partners introduced 'Unexpected Guest,' a touching story of the magical friendship between Nathan, an ordinary young boy, and Skye, an alien from a mysterious land. Together, they celebrated a memorable Christmas season.
We know our customers are more excited than ever for Christmas, craving joyful moments, togetherness and escapism, as so many were unable to celebrate with loved ones last year.
- John Lewis & Partners5
After meeting Skye in the woods near his house, Nathan accompanied Skye during her first Christmas celebration on Earth. Together, they decorated a Christmas tree and enjoyed a cozy Christmas dinner. It was also the first time Skye got to try mince pie and received a thoughtful Christmas present, which was a flashy Christmas light jumper.
Thus, this two-minute advert features the perspective of people who have never experienced Christmas before.
How about the song of the 2021 John Lewis Advert? It is a remake of the 1984 'Together in Electric Dreams' first introduced by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder. Lola Young performs this advert's cover.
John Lewis Christmas Advert Analysis
What is it about the John Lewis Christmas advert that makes it an annual tradition in Great Britain every Christmas season? The answer: a well-defined touching advert message and a consistent branded marketing strategy.
John Lewis Christmas Advert Message
We want this campaign to be uplifting and to inspire everyone to give some kindness in their own way this Christmas, especially to those who need it most.
- John Lewis & Partners 2
The simple and consistent message of the John Lewis Christmas advert is to leave no one behind on Christmas day. Everyone needs a little, simple love from one another, especially during the festive season.2
Fig. 2 - Sharing is caring
John Lewis Christmas Advert Marketing Strategy
The John Lewis Christmas adverts own much of their success to the brand's nostalgia marketing strategy that focuses on consistent brand stories and emotional evocation.
John Lewis Christmas Advert: Nostalgia Marketing
Looking again at the John Lewis Christmas Advert List, you can recognize the common nostalgic theme shared by every John Lewis Christmas advertisement. These nostalgic ads are the product of John Lewis & Partners' nostalgia marketing strategy.3
Nostalgia marketing is a marketing strategy brands use to evoke a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past to build brands for the future. In nostalgia marketing, a company will associate a period or place that triggers happy personal associations for its target customers to market its products and services.
For John Lewis Christmas Advert, the psychological and emotional responses triggered by watching the company's deeply nostalgic Christmas videos have won the hearts of millions of viewers worldwide.
John Lewis Christmas Advert: Consistent Brand Stories
Impressively, throughout the 16 years since its launch, the John Lewis Christmas advert has not lost sight of its consistency in telling branded Christmas stories.
Be it the theme, the color tone, the storyline, or the music, every single element of the John Lewis Christmas advert has been closely tied to the brand's core message to "inspire everyone to give some kindness in their own way this Christmas".4
Evidence of John Lewis Christmas Adverts' consistent brand stories
John Lewis Christmas Advert Criticism
Despite its global reputation, the John Lewis Christmas advert has been subject to criticism since its first launch. The brand has been accused of discrimination, racism, and copyright violations.
John Lewis Christmas Advert: Racism and Discrimination
John Lewis's Christmas advert has been criticized as racist, discriminatory, and abusive.
2010: The John Lewis Christmas advert, 'A Tribute to Givers', told the touching story of a boy giving a Christmas present to his pet dog who was kept outside in the snow. The contemporary animal rights protesters criticized the fact that the animal was left outside in the cold while the boy was celebrating Christmas in the house.4
2021: John Lewis's Christmas advert, 'An Unexpected Guest,' featured the friendship between a regular black boy and a white alien. This advert, however, raised a protest from specific white communities claiming that white people were 'portrayed as aliens.'4
John Lewis Christmas Advert: Copyright Violations
The John Lewis Christmas advert also faced issues of copyright and authenticity of its storyline and music utilized in its advertisements.
- 2014: The music of this year's advert was criticized by The Portraits music band. They accused John Lewis of copyright infringement. Accordingly, The Portraits emailed John Lewis & Partners to sell their songs, but they got no reply. Instead, John Lewis went with the idea and produced a version of the song, borrowing the 'feeling' and many elements of the arrangement without informing the band.4
- 2017: The John Lewis Christmas advert was accused by author Chris Riddell of plagiarizing elements of the advert from his 1986 children's book Mr. Underbed.4
As this year's clock is ticking toward another festive Christmas season, so do John Lewis & Partners and their Christmas advert. Despite existing criticism towards the John Lewis Christmas advert, let's cherish its sincerity in spreading love and leaving no one behind in the warm and magical atmosphere of the Christmas season!
John Lewis Christmas Advert - Key takeaways
- John Lewis & Partners is a famous UK-based fashion chain of high-end department stores founded in 1864.
- In 2007, the first John Lewis Christmas Advert was launched, rapidly winning audiences' hearts and becoming an annual Christmas-celebrating tradition in British culture.
- The John Lewis Christmas advert's message is to leave no one behind on Christmas day.
- The John Lewis Christmas ads utilize a nostalgia marketing strategy.
- The John Lewis Christmas adverts have been criticized for racism, discrimination, and copyright violations.
References
- John Lewis & Partners. 'About Us'. John Lewis & Partners. 2022.
- Katy Cowan. 'John Lewis Christmas ad for 2020 asks us to 'give a little love' and supports the creative industries'. Creative Boom. 2022.
- Greg Jarboe. 'Nostalgia Marketing & What We Can Learn From John Lewis Ads'. Search Engine Journal. 2021.
- Megan Tyce. 'What makes John Lewis' Christmas adverts so powerful?'. H20. 2021.
- Mark Johnson. John Lewis releases 'Unexpected Guest' 2021 Christmas advert. Media Shotz. 2021.
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