John Lewis Christmas ad

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It’s here and I like it.

m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=VxO15Vj_Azo&feature=emb_logo

It reminds me a lot of the Polish grandpa ad from a few years ago. m.youtube.com/watch?v=tU5Rnd-HM6A

WTF? I've already seen it this morning and didn't even realise that it was 'The' John Lewis Christmas ad!

What a disappointment. I thought it was a programme sponsorship for what I was watching on catch up. It's nice, lovely message, but Christmas it is not.

I love the song, I like the ad except where it goes schmalzy at the end.

Loved it.

I am a non-cryer usually but this advert resonated for me as an adopter twice over and an ex-foster carer. This may have been stated up-thread (apologies for skim-reading) but JL has teamed up with a charity that provides children in care with proper bags so that as and when they move - perhaps due to placement breakdowns or on to adoption or SGOs or back to birth family - their worldly goods are not transported in bin bags. Being in care is hard enough without children and young people given the message that their precious belongings are ‘rubbish’. Apparently, every time someone buys an advert-related backpack or hold-all, JL will donate a non-branded bag to a child in care.

My elder daughter’s belongings, such as they were, were handed over in black bin bags by her foster carers. It stung.

I loved it. The ‘man-hobby’ trope, subverted at the end.

Btw, thanks NOT AT ALL to whoever posted the Polish Grandpa advert, as I am now crying buckets 😆

There is an absolutely lovely storyline to it. I can't understand people saying there isn't much of one.

So often we say Christmas is about "children". What can be more about "children" than a foster carer doing all he can to make a foster child welcome at Christmas.

I’ve watched a couple of times now and still don’t get any emotional pull.

Theres no story arc there, only a teeny tiny indication from the wife’s phone call in the beginning that they’re looking forward to something. There’s no context to the man’s hobby, so it just looks like a personal endeavour until the very end.

From comments here I think the emotional pull must be coming from the mention of a cause that people have a prior emotional attachment to, so I think the ad is a bit poor for not giving people who are new to that cause any reason to get invested. Just feels a bit hollow.

I have no emotional attachment to the cause and I thought it was great.

I had a strong reaction to it, made me tear up.

Gosh.

Middle aged bloke weirdly wants to learn to skateboard despite being rubbish at it. What a Wally, one might think.

No, it's actually a bloke putting in time and effort, blood sweat and tears, given his injury, to better welcome a vulnerable child into his home, in the run up to Christmas.

The bin bag thing makes me smile. My D.C. arrived with a couple of carrier bags and the clothes they stood up in (thank goodness for 24 hour supermarkets).

Soon afterwards they were issued with a massive suitcase each. I wasn't impressed, it seemed a terrible message! Here you are, oh and a suitcase ready for your next move!

There is an absolutely lovely storyline to it. I can't understand people saying there isn't much of one.

I think it's more there's a just a very brief clip of the phone call which could be about anything and no other mention that they are preparing someone coming like putting up 3 stocking. The rest of the advert is just the man learning how to skateboard. Then at the end the girl is shown for a few seconds with a skateboard and you only know she's a Foster child after the ad is over and the writing comes up without that you'd have no idea.

It might have been nicer to see more of the young girl settling in and even skateboard with the man but he's literally the predominant focus of 95% of the advert when it's actually supposed to be about Foster children.

only a teeny tiny indication from the wife’s phone call in the beginning that they’re looking forward to something. There’s no context to the man’s hobby, so it just looks like a personal endeavour until the very end

For me this is why it works so well. You assume it’s just a hobby then realise it’s actually an act of caring. I thought it was great. No personal connection to the cause beyond being a human 🤷‍♀️

Ah, to me it's self evident when the door opens. That particular pairing on the doorstep, and the child's glum demeanour, shrieks fostering to me regardless of the message at the end.

I missed the phone call.
Twigged the guy was learning for a reason (because this is a Christmas ad!).
As soon as the door opened I knew it was a placement, and the quick chat over the board and stickers was them trying to find a connection.

I loved it. I used to foster. Yes its a bit twee, yes fostering is damn hard and children are usually determined to be unimpressed but it made me cry a bit remembering past children on the doorstep.

It's an OK ad but I don't see it as being particularly Christmas's. It is something that could be put out at any time of year - to which they have added a Christmas tree and could be for any company.

Here’s the information about the JL link-up with Madlug:

I appreciate that JL support the cause but the drippy heart twanging message is plain irritating.

And they've massacred yet another decent tune🙄

I loved that one. And the one where the snowman goes looking for a scarf for his other half.

Polish grandpa ad is one of my favourites. Have you seen this? From Germany:

JL ruin good songs every year!
To be honest I don't see the point of any of the Xmas ads... does watching them make any of you want to go to that particular store? They cost so much money to make too. Stores could use the money to reduce prices at Xmas and help everyone!

Brilliant, well done JL

Then at the end the girl is shown for a few seconds with a skateboard and you only know she's a Foster child after the ad is over and the writing comes up without that you'd have no idea.

Oh I thought it was clear - the woman with a file showing she was working rather than it being a social visit, child looking nervous.

I have no prior attachment to the cause and thought it was lovely. I liked the conversation at the end as well, when she goes in and you hear them talking about their skateboards, showing how it's worked to give them something to bond over and make her a little more comfortable.

Apply for a job as their business manager immediately! 😂

It isn’t great but they’re always a bit hit and miss, I didn’t particularly like the dragon a few years ago either.

In the scheme of things, they do not spend that much on the adverts themselves. It would not change prices one jot if they didn't produce and advert.