John Lewis Christmas advert celebrates kindness of British public in pandemic
The John Lewis Partnership has said its latest Christmas advert will highlight the kindness of the British public during the pandemic after it questioned whether it would b e appropriate to make the commercial at all this year.
The retail giant said it had considered shelving the production of its annual marketing campaign but said charity partners persuaded it to go ahead.
Jo h n L e wi s a n d Wai t r o s e said this year's advert, to be launched at 7am today, is also intended to prompt fur ther acts of kindness.
I t h o p e s t h e c a m p a i g n , which will run under the tagl i n e "Give a l i t t l e l ove ", wi l l support families in need over Christmas.
T h e p a r t n e r s h i p s a i d i t i s aiming to raise £4 million for t wo c h a r i t i e s – Fa r e S h a r e , which helps those facing food p o v e r t y, a n d H o m e - S t a r t , wh i c h wo r k s w i t h p a r e n t s who need support – through the campaign.
It has pledged to match all customer donations up to £2 million.
C l a i r e Po i n t o n , c u s t o me r director of John Lewis, said the company intends to "deviate slightly" from the style of previous adver ts, due to the backdrop of Covid-19.
T h e a d ve r t , w h i c h s t a r t s with a boy whose football has b ecome stuck in a tree and moves through a series of acts of kindness, switches from live action to various styles of animation.
John Lewis said it hopes the nine vignettes created by eight
artists also celebrate the "creative industries which have been hit particularly hard this year".
In another step away from its traditional approach, for the first time the advert includes a specially commissioned song.
British soul singer Celeste wrote and recorded the track, titled A Little Love, with 10p from each download going to the charity campaign.
C u s t o me r s o f Jo h n L e w i s will be able to buy merchandise related to the campaign, which will see 100 per cent of profits go to charity.
J a m e s B a i l e y, e x e c u t i v e d i r e c t o r o f Wa i t r o s e , s a i d : "E a c h y e a r f e s t i v e a d v e r t s come and go – and some are r e m e m b e r e d m o r e v i v i d l y than others. But our advertising this year will leave a lasting legacy and in that way we hope
it won't just be for Christmas.
"We did consider whether it was right to produce an ad this year at all. However, FareShare and Home-start told us how much of a difference this campaign could make, both on a financial level and in raising awareness of the incredibly important work they do with families across the UK."
John Lewis executive director Pippa Wicks said: "We have a long tradition of helping support the communities which we serve, so, as we launch one of the b est-loved assets, our Christmas ad, it's fitting to take this one step further by worki n g h a n d i n h a n d wi t h t wo incredible charities supporting families in need."
The adver t was created by agency adam&eveddb, which also helped to produce a comp l e m e n t a r y 3 0 - s e c o n d a d which carries a direct call to support the two charities.
The John Lewis Partnership has cut about 2,800 jobs since the start of the pandemic as it closed eight stores and reduced its head office workforce.
In September, the group told staff they would not receive a bonus for the first time since 1953.