Unwrapped: The best of TV Christmas ads
It’s already that time of year when retailers bombard us with festive stories designed to pull at our heart (and purse) strings
IT’S THE most wonderful time of the year... when brands start releasing their heartwarming Christmas adverts. Last year, many focused on the Covid-19 pandemic with companies such as Sainsbury’s releasing ads featuring family members looking forward to spending time together after being separated.
And today one of the most anticipated ones of the year is released – the John Lewis advert. But which of the commercials so far are Christmas crackers... and which ones are total turkeys?We reveal all...
JOHN LEWIS
The heart-tugging storyline of the Unexpected Guest – which has parallels with ET – centres on an enigmatic young alien whose spaceship crash lands in woods on earth. Stranded Skye – played by 14-year-old Raffiella Chapman – is discovered by wide-eyed schoolboy Nathan, played by Jordan Nash, also 14, who lives nearby.
Jordan visits his new pal every day and teaches her about festive traditions from the must-have Christmas jumper to putting up fairy lights. Having never seen a mince pie she stuffs a whole one, including the foil casing, into her mouth.
We watch her joy at seeing snow for the first time and the tear-jerking final scene as Skye leaves for her home planet with a parting gift of Nathan’s customised Christmas jumper with a light-up tree design and a star that matches the one on her space suit.As she leans in to kiss him on the cheek, millions will be reaching for the tissues at the emotional ending that has become a trademark of the retailer’s epic festive ad.
The soundtrack – a powerful, stripped back cover of Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder’s 1984 hit Together in Electric Dreams by rising star, 20-year-old singersongwriter Lola Young – is destined to shoot to the top of the charts.
The two minute ad airs on TV for the first time during the 8.15pm break in The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain awards on ITV.
Early birds who have My John Lewis loyalty cards can see the ad online from 6.30am today and it will be on their website for everyone from 8am.
Londoner Jordan, who has starred alongside Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo in fantasy film drama Come Away, said: “Once the ad comes out, Christmas is here.”
And in Hastings, Sussex born Raffiella – known as Raffi – whose list of roles includes playing five-year-old Lucy Hawking alongside Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything and Claire Densmore in Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children described the ad as “bittersweet”.
The ad is out around a week earlier than usual but John Lewis denied the date change was to allow people to buy early to avoid shortages on shelves and said it was driven by shoppers who had started searching for festive goodies early following a pared down or cancelled Covid Christmas last year.
Spin-off merchandise is expected to sell out with versions of Nathan’s Christmas jumper costing £29 for adults and £14-£18 for kids.
Families can also “shop the look” of Nathan’s family’s home and buy a decorated tree, dinner table and accessories that feature in the mini-film.And 10 stores will have an interactive experience to get a closer look at
Skye’s spaceship.The ad ends with the tagline “For a Christmas as magical as your first” and Unexpected Guest is a return to the much-loved, heartwarming, tearjerking format that has become a trademark.
BOOTS
Boots has collaborated with Oscar-winning British-Australian film director Tom Hooper – known for The King’s Speech and Les Miserables – on this year’s campaign focusing on the joy of spending time with loved ones.
Called Bags Of Joy, it stars actress Jenna Coleman as Joy, a woman getting ready in her bedroom for a night out. After reaching into a bag given to her by her grandmother, with the note “this is what Christmas feels like”, it begins to produce seemingly never-ending gifts.
Surprised, Joy then tips out the bag on to the bed, leaping delightedly into a huge pile of Boots products including a Dyson
hairdryer and a skincare set from Rihanna’s Fenty line.
Then, we see Joy head to a Christmas party, where she pulls a Polaroid camera from the magical bag, gets baubles to decorate the family tree, a cosy hat and scarf set to wear during a spin on aWaltzer at a Christmas fair and even false eyelashes to glam up a snowman.
At the end, we see Joy return the favour to her nan, giving her a bottle of perfume as a gift with a card saying “this is what love smells like”.
“I love Christmas and I’ve always loved Christmas films,” Jenna said. “Celebrating family, togetherness and the simple joy of giving, mixed with a healthy dose of festive magic and charm felt so poignant this year.” While this has a focus on products, the ad – airing on Saturday during the Jonathan Ross Show on ITV – does deliver the touching family moment when Joy reunites with her nan at the end.
HOBBYCRAFT
Last year the crafting retailer’s advert focused on the fact that despite the pandemic, many of us had found new ways to be creative in lockdown.
This year, Hobbycraft have gone for one that delivers a very simple message, focusing the story around the sense of achievement and happiness you get when you give and receive something handmade.
Called “Moments We Make”, the 30-second film is soundtracked by a Leeds-based folk band called The Dunwells, who composed the track of the same name especially for the advert.
During the festive period, the full-length version of the song will be played on Hobbycraft’s in-store radio.
The advert is a saccharine affair, featuring scenes including a woman painting and packing baubles, children making Christmas crackers out of cardboard and a mother and son making Christmas wreaths together.
While it is a sweet advert full of nice family moments, it falls a bit flat compared to others which have pulled out all the stops with special effects and storytelling.