The most anticipated global ad campaign of the year, the annual Christmas work by UK retailer John Lewis, has dropped and you’re going to be mightily disappointed if you were expecting snowmen and reindeers.
Called “The Beginner” and once again the work of John Lewis’ long-standing agency Adam & Eve/DDB, the 90-second spot takes a decidedly un-Christmas approach and, it has to be said, feels a little on the bleak side for what’s typically a celebration of all things Santa.
Set to a cover of Blink-182’s “All The Small Things” by America’s Got Talent contestant Mike Giere, the spot follows a middle-aged man attempting to, in some way, master some skateboard moves. Hardly festive cheer, is it?
Ultimately we see the poor patched-up chap and his partner open the front door to meet a social worker standing with a young teenager, Ellie, who is clutching her skateboard while anxiously entering what might possibly be her new home and meet her new foster parents.
John Lewis has said the TVC was “one of the most comprehensively tested campaigns” it had ever produced. Typically, it tests its world-beating work on its staff.
Anyway, grab the tissues and watch the stellar spot below:
The spot forms part of John Lewis’ ongoing commitment to help young people in the care system find foster families and employment which, the retailer says, is “often an overlooked issue”.
It’s estimated that over 100,000 British minors spend Christmas in care leaving them “isolated and forgotten”.
Instore at John Lewis and its affiliate Waitrose, there will be opportunities for customers to donate to the John Lewis’ partner charities Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland. There will be a “giving tree” which will enable customers to make donations of up to £50 ($A90).
