CHRISTMAS is fast approaching and festive ads are appearing on televisions, and John Lewis is always the most anticipated.
More than half a dozen Christmas adverts have already been from retailers including M&S, Sainbsury’s, Asda and Tesco.
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And John Lewis has finally released its full 2024 ad campaign.
For the first time ever, the retailer launched a trio of festive ads, two of which had previously been unveiled.
John Lewis unveiled part one in its series of three ads in September, with the clip themed around the retailer’s “Never Knowingly Undersold” pledge.
The ad, directed by Saatchi and Saatchi, first aired on Channel 4 and showed viewers a single John Lewis shop window through the decades, from the roaring 1920s to the modern day.
The second clip, which aired earlier this month, is based around the “Give Knowingly” theme.
The ad chronicles the ups and downs of one shopper’s pink jumper bought for her by her mum.
The final teaser was a short 10-second clip featuring a sofa on an ice rink in a dark room with winter clothing-clad skaters circling it.
After around seven seconds, a date emerged from the background saying “14.11.24” before fading away.
John Lewis has unveiled its final Christmas advert today, returning to basics with a magical story about discovering the perfect gift for a loved one.
To make you feel nostalgic, we have rounded up every single John Lewis Christmas advert that’s aired since 2007.
2007 – Shadows
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In John Lewis’ first Christmas advert, people piled gifts together to create shadows that looked like a woman walking her dog through the snow and having a drink at a party.
It featured the tagline “Whoever you’re looking for this Christmas”.
The memorable ad was before the era that John Lewis adverts created a huge buzz as social media was barely even a thing at this point.
The music used was Prokofiev’s morning serenade from Romeo and Juliet.
2008 – From Me To You
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This was probably the most basic John Lewis advert with the retailer trying to work out which direction its adverts would take.
Set to a cover of The Beatles‘ From Me To You, it showed how you can find the perfect present for different characters in your life.
It ended with the message: “If you know the person, you’ll find the present.”
2009 – Sweet Child O’ Mine
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This was the first year that John Lewis used an acoustic cover of a popular song from the charts.
Taken By Trees covered Guns N Roses‘s Sweet Child Of Mine as the song for the advert – and it peaked at No23.
It’s a sweet advert which shows children opening adult presents such as an e-reader and large slippers, and says at the end: “Remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling.”
2010 – A Tribute To Givers
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Ellie Goulding recorded a cover version of Elton John‘s Your Song for this advert – the same tune that appeared in the 2018 film.
The advert is about the lengths that people go to to surprise their friends and relatives on Christmas Day.
It ends with the words “For those who care about showing they care”.
2011 – The Long Wait
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This was the first year John Lewis used its advert to tell a whole story, and it made the nation weep.
It told the story of a little boy impatiently waiting for Christmas and all because he wants to give a heartfelt gift to his two sleepy parents on Christmas morning.
It was set to Slow Moving Millie’s cover of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths. The tagline was “For gifts you can’t wait to give”.
This was the film that cemented the department store’s reputation as the best Christmas advertiser so we think that has to put it at the top of the list.
2012 – The Journey
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John Lewis’s tale of a snowman who travels over mountains and through horrible weather to bring his snow-girlfriend a scarf to keep her warm was very touching.
It was set to a Gabrielle Aplin cover of The Power of Love by Frankie Goes To Hollywood and had many people shedding tears at the time.
It was the first John Lewis ad track that reached No1 in the singles chart after Ellie Goulding’s Your Song peaked at No2 in 2010.
It finished with the line “Get a little more love this Christmas”.
2013 – The Bear And The Hare
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This charming animated tale tells the story of a bear who has never seen Christmas so his animal friends buy him an alarm clock so he can wake up from hibernation just for the day.
Lily Allen sang a cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know – and it became her third No1 UK single. It’s closing line is “Give someone a Christmas they’ll never forget”.
People went wild for the story at the time and a lot of people on Twitter, now called X, call it the best John Lewis ad the department store has ever made.
2014 – Monty The Penguin
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This was the heartwrenching advert about a little boy and his friend Monty The Penguin who wants to find love at Christmas.
He’s revealed to be the boy’s stuffed toy – and under the Christmas tree is a girl penguin toy for Monty to fall in love with.
It featured the tagline “Give someone the Christmas they’ve been dreaming of” and was accompanied by Tom Odell singing John Lennon‘s Real Love.
If people don’t say The Bear And The Hare is their favourite, they often choose 2014’s advert as the John Lewis ad they like the best.
2015 – Man on the Moon
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This advert with the line “Show someone they’re loved this Christmas” really tugged on people’s heartstrings.
It told the story of a little girl who spots a lonely old man living on the moon through her telescope.
She finds a way to float presents over to him on balloons so he can enjoy Christmas Day too as Aurora’s cover of Oasis‘ Half The World Away plays in the background.
It’s one of John Lewis’s most sentimental and emotional Christmas adverts and definitely had people crying across the nation.
2016 – Buster the Boxer
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John Lewis decided to mix it up with Buster The Boxer in 2016 by having a funny advert rather than a gut-wrenching sentimental one.
It told the tale of a dog who was desperate to bounce on his family’s trampoline.
He had to watch foxes, a badger and a hedgehog have fun while his family were asleep.
Then as the little girl runs towards her gift on Christmas Day, Buster gets to it first and starts bouncing. The funny ad ended with “Gifts that everyone will love” and Vaults provided the backing track with a cover of Randy Crawford’s One Day I’ll Fly Away.
Fans loved it, but some people were left a bit disappointed as they didn’t feel like it packed as much of an emotional punch as in previous years.
2017 -Moz the Monster
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The 2017 advert was about a cuddly blue monster called Moz who befriended a little boy called Joe.
They stayed up together all night every night until Moz realises Joe needs to sleep at night so leaves him a present of a night light under the Christmas tree.
People weren’t as fond of Moz as they were of Buster or Monty, but they still found the advert cute.
It featured the tagline “For gifts that brighten their world” and The Beatles‘ song Golden Slumbers performed by Elbow, which reached No29 in the charts.
2018 – The Boy And The Piano
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In the 2018 John Lewis ad Elton John starred in its most showbiz-inspired advert yet.
Viewers were taken through key moments in his life, including stadium tours, travelling on a private jet, playing at his local pub and performing at a school.
But it had a mixed reaction on social media, with not everyone loving the festive ad.
It spanned the veteran singer’s life and showed how a gift of a piano from his grandmother helped make him the international superstar he is today.
And for once it didn’t feature a cover-version of a song, but Elton himself singing his hit Your Song.
The tagline was “Some gifts are more than just a gift”.
2019 – Excitable Edgar
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The 2019 advert is a heart-warming tale of a dragon called Excitable Edgar set in a far-away mythical land.
The ad – the first joint-effort with John Lewis’ sister retailer Waitrose – follows young girl Ava and her friendship with a cute young dragon as his accidental fire-breathing nearly ruins Christmas.
Edgar loves Christmas but every time he gets excited he uncontrollably breathes fire into the medieval-style village causing comical catastrophes.
The two and a half minute John Lewis Christmas advert follows the pair as they join in with seasonal activities.
It’s backing track is a cover by Bastille’s Dan Smith of 80s classic Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon.
The ad, known as Excitable Edgar, ends with the strapline “Show them how much you care”.
2020 – Give A Little Love
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In a nod to the Covid pandemic which ground the country to a standstill, John Lewis’ 2020 Christmas advert was inspired by random acts of kindness during lockdown.
It features different acts of kindness through nine different live action and animation scenes.
Heart-warming shots include a little girl helping a boy get his football down from the tree using a heart umbrella, a group of pigeons taking a sad hedgehog on a ride in a plane, and a young couple delivering a bag of shopping to two pensioners.
The ad was put together mostly via Zoom because of the Covid lockdowns, and features an original song by British soul singer Celeste.
Eight artists helped create the different scenes, including Chris Hopewell, who has created music videos for Radiohead and Franz Ferdinand, and French animator Sylvian Chomet.
2021 – The Unexpected Guest
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In its 2021 Christmas ad called The Unexpected Guest, a teenage boy called Nathan meets an alien named Skye who has crash landed on earth.
Through friendship Nathan shows Skye a series of festive family traditions.
They decorate a tree, eat mince pies, throw snowballs, and watch a Christmas movie.
But the advert has a bittersweet ending, as Skye has fixed her ship and must return home.
In a tear-jerking moment, Nathan gifts Skye his Christmas jumper – the same one he was wearing the day they met.
The soundtrack is performed by Lola Young, a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from South London, with a version of “Together in Electric Dreams”.
2022 – The Beginner
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The John Lewis 2022 advert was released on November 10.
The retailer wanted to use its ad, named The Beginner, to help raise awareness of some of the most vulnerable children in the country.
It follows a middle-aged man as he struggles to master the skill of skateboarding.
He has a few mishaps and tumbles off the skateboard a number of times.
His wife looks bemused at his efforts and concerned when he struggles to put the star on the top of the Christmas tree due to his aching muscles – but he perseveres with the slightly odd hobby.
You’re left wondering why he’s so determined to learn to skate until the final scene, where there’s a knock at their front door.
We see a social worker standing with Ellie, a young teenager, who is waiting anxiously to enter her new foster home, with a skateboard in her hand.
The importance of the skateboard suddenly becomes clear as the man says he likes to skate too.
You realise that he has been looking for a way to find common ground with Ellie.
It ends by saying: “Over 108,000 children in the UK are in the care system.
“We’re making a long-term commitment to support the futures of young people from care.”
It is the heartfelt story of one man’s determination to connect with a child, showing the power that kindness can make to someone else’s life.
The accompanying soundtrack is a cover of Blink 182’s All The Small Things sung by little-known US artist Mike Geier.
2023 – Snapper: The Perfect Tree
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2023 – Traditions Grow
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Last year’s John Lewis ad was about a little boy’s quest for the perfect Christmas tree, befriending a playful character along the way.
The advert starts as eight-year-old Alfie picks up a seed to grow a “Christmas tree” at a flea market with his grandma.
As he nurtures the little seed at home, it quickly grows into an energetic and mischievous Venus flytrap named Snapper.
The fast-growing wannabe Christmas tree becomes a life force with its playful personality and gets in on all the festivities, but it eventually comes to an abrupt halt.
When Snapper grows so big that he tears Christmas decorations at the house, he’s cast outside in the cold by the family.
The tearjerking moment leaves Alfie heartbroken, who’s set on not freezing him out.
The advert ends as Snapper is embraced back into family life when Alfie and the family join him in the garden to give Christmas gifts.
The playful plant gobbles up all the wrapped Christmas gifts only to keep the wrapping paper and give back the prezzies to the family.
The music is provided by famous opera artist Andrea Bocelli who performs a song called “Festa”, which means celebration.
2023 – The Gifting Hour
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John Lewis has gone back to basics with its Christmas advert this year with a magical tale about finding the perfect gift for a loved one.
The two minute ad is called The Gifting Hour and follows a woman’s last-minute dash to find a gift for her sister.
After 17 years, it’s the first time that one of John Lewis’ 34 shops has featured in the advert.
The mini-film was shot in John Lewis’ flagship store on Oxford Street during an overnight shoot back in October.
The department store had a multi-million pound makeover earlier this year after the retailer invested £6.5million.
The advert, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, follows the woman, Sally, rushing into a John Lewis store looking for a last minute gift.
The beginning is reminiscent of a Christmas film but Sally quickly enters a fantastical world, where she journeys through childhood memories looking for clues to help her pick the best present.
She sees her sister as a child at Christmas, fighting with her as a teenager and as a pregnant mum-to-be.
The scenes represent the thought process that goes through your head when you’re thinking about buying a gift at Christmas.
She returns back to reality once she has found the gift, which is ready and wrapped.
Then, she heads outside and has a special moment with her sister.
It ends with the strapline: “The secret to finding the perfect gift? Knowing where to look”.
John Lewis intentionally does not reveal what the gift is, as it wanted to make the advert about the sentiment of giving.
The soundtrack is also a little different this year.
John Lewis is famous for using covers of popular songs for its advert – but this year it’s Sonnet by The Verve.
It’s one of the nods to the 90s, which is a major theme this year.
The retailer is also launching a search for a coverstar on TikTok, and legendary lead singer of the band Richard Ashcroft will help pick the new star.
The winner will record and release their own track with BMG and a version of the advert with their rendition will be played on TV on Christmas Day.
They will also win a £3,000 shopping spree and tickets to a Richard Ashcroft headline show in 2025.
Proceeds from the single will be donated to the John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures programme, which helps care-experienced people.
It also doesn’t have an official merchandise range from the advert, which is a huge change from previous years.
