The department store’s annual campaign, a TV moment that has kicked off the UK holiday season for more than a decade, this year focuses on a middle-aged man’s efforts to prepare for the arrival of a new foster daughter – Ellie – by trying to share her passion for skateboard. Thought to have cost around £7m, including pay for TV and online slots, the ad is in stark contrast to last year’s big-budget production, which featured a crash-landed alien girl, following a similar formula with a series from John Lewis adverts from The Hare and the Bear in 2013 to Monty the Penguin in 2014 and the exciting Edgar the Dragon in 2019 – based on cute characters that attract millions of viewers online. Claire Pointon, customer director at John Lewis, said the ad was a “very different story to what we’ve done before” which was intended to “make you stop and think and say ‘how can I help’.” The Beginner ad is set to a soundtrack of All The Small Things, a cover of the song Blink 182 by American singer Mike Geier. Photo: John Lewis and Partners/PA John Lewis’ care and charity for its latest ad follows a similar tactic adopted by Marks & Spencer, which highlighted the beneficiaries of the retailer’s £1m donation to 1,000 community groups and good causes through the Neighborly platform. However, other retailers including Tesco, Argos and Boots have focused on returning to family gatherings. Unlike many other majors, John Lewis launched its ad a little later than last year and opted for shorter ads and slightly fewer primetime slots, in a tough market where spot costs are rising by a quarter at times. The World Cup and Black Friday coincide with the festive gathering. Holly Kicul, senior advertising director at John Lewis, said: “We could have gone for Christmas magic and fun, but that wasn’t the right thing to do this year with everything going on. We felt it was right to use this platform, we need to get this message across [on carers] outside. We wanted to laugh but in a different way than what we usually do.” Set to a revamped version of Blink 182’s 1990s skater pop punk hit All the Small Things by American singer Mike Geier, the “newbie” ad features the dad-to-be apparently in a midlife crisis, doing skate tricks on night and day – even using a board as a desk footstool. John Lewis Christmas advert 2022, entitled The Beginner. Photo: John Lewis and Partners/PA The reason for his efforts, which result in him nearly mowing down a neighbor and causing several crashes and falls, only becomes clear at the ad’s tearjerker ending when a nervous teenage girl arrives at the door with a skateboard under her arm. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The ad was written with expert advice from Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland and aims to raise awareness of those living in and leaving care over the Christmas period. It follows on from parent company John Lewis’s £1.5m ‘building a happier future’ drive to help experienced young people with training and employment. The company has said it wants to be the “employer of choice” for care leavers. The ad, which will go out to John Lewis loyalty cardholders at 6am on Thursday, two hours before it appears on wider social media and then airs alongside ITV’s I’m a Celebrity in the evening, does not ask for donations to charity. However, a quarter of the value of sales of a special teddy bear and other products, including a skateboard as seen in the ad, will go to charities Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland. John Lewis stores will also have ‘gift trees’ where shoppers can pick up a trinket that allows them to donate between £5 and £15 to the causes at checkout.
