Lessons To Learn From The John Lewis Christmas Advert

Once again the festive season is upon us, along with the festive TV adverts from the likes of John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and M&S. A huge hype for the associated brands has been created, in part through the wide coverage by the national newspapers. What are the video marketing lessons behind the hype?

The much-anticipated John Lewis film, Man on the Moon, broke first. Within two weeks of its release it had achieved over fourteen and a half million views on YouTube. This is the eighth year running that John Lewis has made a festive advert and every single one has been a huge marketing success. Sainsbury's followed shortly thereafter, with Mog’s Christmas Calamity, followed by Asda and M&S. (For a full menu of Christmas marketing offerings search “Christmas 2015 Ads” on YouTube.)

In terms of numbers of views, the brands differ wildly. John Lewis is way out in front, closely followed by Sainsbury’s, with over ten million views a piece. Brands like M&S and Coca Cola come next in the charts, but are relatively far behind with views of under a million.

Why has John Lewis (and Sainsbury’s) done so well this year? There was a similar pattern last year, but viewing figures were higher, with a larger group at the top of the list, as opposed to this year’s two clear winners.

Their success is all down to the art of a well-told story. John Lewis’s little girl and lonely man on the moon story starts off on a melancholic note but ends with a resounding joyous uplift when the two connect through the telescope. Mog, of the Sainsbury’s advert, also brings about an emotional response, through the calamitous chain reaction and the happy ending when all is made good.

Without a strong storyline, the other adverts perform more poorly. Viewers react to a good story, especially one that makes them feel good or causes a few tears to fall. At Christmas these reactions reinforce the traditional seasonal message of “goodwill to all”. By using an emotional narrative, John Lewis and Sainsbury’s have taken the public on a journey and captured their hearts in the process.

Successful video marketing is all about getting the right audience to view your videos. It doesn’t matter how large or small your business or brand is, what matters is that you appeal to your own audience and visual stories are a very powerful way of doing just that. In particular, telling a customer’s story, how your product or service has helped them, is a great way to reach out.

It all boils down to this - for a film to be watched all the way through and shared afterwards, it must be attention-grabbing and cause a reaction. The Man on the Moon and Mog’s Christmas Calamity create engagement through empathy, with viewers reacting with feelings of warmth and happiness. It’s these feelings that make people share and talk about the adverts. Big brands use stories to build their audience and there is absolutely no reason why you, as a small brand, should not do the same.