The secret to the perfect Christmas advert? Ask John Lewis

Autumn brings a slew of special ‘days’ from Halloween, Bonfire night through to Remembrance Sunday. And, of course, the launch of the John Lewis Christmas advert , writes Sarah Newton.

This always premieres at 8am on a Thursday and, such is the anticipation, most people have probably watched it by ten past, wondering if it will be as beautiful as The Bear and the Hare in 2013? Or as joyful as Buster the Boxer on the trampoline in 2016? Or even as bad as last year’s effort featuring a Venus Flytrap, which you could conveniently also buy in store?

In a break from tradition, this year’s advert is set in a John Lewis branch as a woman makes a last-minute attempt to find the perfect present for her sister. It all seems pretty bog standard, until the clothing rack she’s perusing becomes a Narnia-like doorway into her own past. Along with her, we hop back and forth in time, meeting her sister at different stages of her life, but getting no closer to figuring out what it is she wants.

It’s beautifully made - we move seamlessly from bedrooms to ice rinks to pubs and back again - and the whole thing has a dreamlike quality as the woman dashes through her memories in search of the perfect gift.

In usual John Lewis fashion it all gets very emotional. I haven’t got any siblings, but I imagine most people can relate to the love/hate feeling you share where one moment, it's all hugs and laughter; the next there’s a screaming match over who’s borrowed your favourite scarf and got make-up on it.

The ad brings this to life beautifully (including the door slamming and screaming), though the real gut-punch moment is when the woman sees her mother beckoning her into the kitchen, as she backs away in tears. It's not explicitly said, but it’s pretty clear that her mum is no longer around and it’s a poignant and, perfectly brief, nod to the fact that not all of us look forward to the festive season without a loved one. And also, that sometimes it’s easier to lock memories away than it is to face them. This year John Lewis has mastered the art of tugging at heartstrings without making it feel forced.

And that’s what’s so brilliant about this advert – it’s completely real (well, not the Narnia bit obviously, although I still have a look in the back of big old hotel wardrobes. Just me?) ?There are no men happily carrying countless carrier bags down snowy city streets lined with carol singers, there are no animated animals buying each other presents and there are no famous celebrities turning into fairy godmothers. There’s just a woman (and in my family it’s always the women who do the shopping) dashing around, trying to conjure up with the perfect present.

The ad - titled?The Gifting Hour - ends with the strapline: 'The secret to finding the perfect gift? Knowing where to look’ – and the woman is eventually told by the childhood version of her sibling what the perfect gift would be. We never find out what it is and there’s no overt selling in the advert, which, in our age of commercialism, is refreshing because it’s not focused on flashy gifts or deep discounts. John Lewis recognises that people don’t want to be “sold” to at the moment; they want to be moved.

But make no mistake, there’s plenty to aspire to. The?woman’s Fair Isle wool blend knit jumper, ￡49, is already sold out online (I checked!) and all the items featured in the ad are available in store, including the party dresses on the shop’s rails, the rollerblade baubles, the lava lamp and the rather nice faux leather trousers (which I’ve already ordered as a Christmas present to myself! Shhhh – don’t tell anyone.)

Beyond the aspirational messaging and emotional resonance, these ads also serve as a masterclass in brand building. By choosing to focus on universal themes of love and kindness, John Lewis has built on its brand identity - that it is trustworthy, warm and community-focused. When people think of John Lewis, they think of more than just a store - they think of a brand that understands what truly matters.

That’s not to say that this year’s advert is preaching. In fact, it’s stepped away from the previously pious tone the company adopted for a couple of years, which usually had some middle class family trying to batter some vague, unspecified message of Christmas giving and sharing into the ad break of Coronation Street. Its worst example of this was in 2022 when we followed a man as he painstakingly learned to skateboard because, we found out, he and his partner were adopting a child who loves skateboarding. Of course they were. For me this year’s advert is almost as good as The Long Wait – the firm’s 2011 offering, which raised the stakes for festive adverts. It depicted a young boy anxiously waiting for Christmas to arrive, impatiently eating the chocolates in his advent calendar and watching the clock as the minutes, hours and days pass by.

We assumed his impatience was due to his desire to receive lots of gifts, but it is revealed at the end of the advert that his greatest wish is to give his own messily-wrapped present to his parents.

Set to Slow Moving Millie’s cover of “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths, the advert ended with the tagline: “For gifts you can’t wait to give.” This year’s message is equally simple and heartwarming, about the right gift not needing to be an expensive one.

Happy Christmas. And remember, this year, give knowingly. And if you can’t think of the perfect present get the fair isle jumper. It’s lovely.