John Lewis Christmas ad ‘simplistic’

A WEST marketing expert claims that the John Lewis Christmas television advert that was debuted yesterday is “simplistic” and a “weak return”.

Dr Donald Lancaster, of the University of Bath School of Management’s Marketing, Business & Society division, said this year’s advert will quickly be forgotten.

In recent years the launch of the retailer’s festive advert has heralded the start of the Christmas consumer rush.

But Dr Lancaster says this year’s version follows what is now a well-trodden path, narrating the tale of an alien landing and – ET-like – being found by a child.

He said: “John Lewis’s early Christmas ads captured a cultural shift in the day, creating a sense of Christmas cheer and warmth, with cuddly toys, happy stories and a shift away from the relentless product-based communication.

“As they set the bar higher, there were mis-steps: the chronically sad Man in the Moon stands out. But they were experimenting with new ways of telling a story of warmth, solidarity and comfort (akin to much of the ‘stuff’ you can buy in-store) and thereby claiming a greater share of consumers’ Christmas hearts and hopefully wallets.

“This latest offering seems retrogressive. The story is simplistic. It seems to be a weak return to the early days of John Lewis’s Christmas communications.

“I simply don’t buy one commentator’s idea that this is a politicised story about the arrival of coronavirus – that’s even more fanciful than the story itself!

“I do sympathise with the ad agency and client here. Expectations run high; the pressure to be PC and woke is intense.

“The main film is competent, but I fear it will disappear from consumer memory as quickly as the alien featuring in it.”

Before joining the University of Bath in 2014 Dr Lancaster had an international advertising career, working with various brands such as Mars, HSBC and also Aston Martin.