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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Why’s the John Lewis’ Xmas Ad so bloody menacing!

872 replies

Purplefoo · 04/11/2025 09:13

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/04/john-lewis-christmas-advert-countdown-90s-club-classic-where-love-lives

I genuinely thought it was about an abusive dad or a murderous son at first! So intense……

OP posts:
Thread gallery
19
notacooldad · 04/11/2025 15:18

I can’t think of a profession that involves house visits to teens that doesn’t mean there’s been some issue for the teens. Maybe not ND, but an issue.

I didnt say the focus of my visit was for the teen. However I always make time to chat and see how things are even if they are not part of my case load, like I do if a grandparent or family friend is in the house when I call.

Genevieva · 04/11/2025 15:19

BarmyFotheringay · 04/11/2025 09:56

I wasn't aware John Lewis sold vinyl records 🤔

They sell random stuff. No idea about vinyls, but I know they sell vintage clothing.

I actually think its quite a clever advert. It is about how a thoughtful gift can bridge divides when words can't. I bit of teenage angst or parents not managing teenage changes well can create an invisible divide, but underneath it all they love each other.

tokennamechange · 04/11/2025 15:20

Purplefoo · 04/11/2025 13:46

Can posters try and stop referring to people with different opinions as ‘hysterical’ and other such names.

This is a thread about an advert not an excuse to set loose your inner mean girl.

Particularly because some of the people calling others "hysterical" for not liking it are admitting to crying over an advert.

Nothing wrong with showing your emotions but if anything is closer to a hysterical over reaction it's sobbing over a mawkish ad for a middle class department store, not making a snarky comment on a chat forum.

JaneJeffer · 04/11/2025 15:23

Totally unrealistic. The teenager would have said you didn’t even open my present and then gone stomping off and slammed his bedroom door.

DBD1975 · 04/11/2025 15:26

NomoneyNoprospects · 04/11/2025 09:15

When the music on the dance floor faded out i thought we were going to find out one of them was dead.

Me too!

Delatron · 04/11/2025 15:27

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

I love this.

Gosh there are some perfect parents with perfect teens on this thread. Who bizarrely are lacking in the emotional intelligence to understand all teens are different - doesn’t matter how good your parenting skills are. Many are shy, anxious, moody etc.

MyrtleLion · 04/11/2025 15:27

I don't know what demographic they're aiming at. I expected it to have more mass appeal and to appeal to women more than men. As it so heavily features a middle-aged man and his teenage son, and women do most of the buying, not sure how it will make money for JL.

DBD1975 · 04/11/2025 15:28

StarlightRobot · 04/11/2025 10:02

I admire what they are trying to accomplish but nothing beats the trampoline one with the dog- I loved that! Edgar the dragon was also brilliant. I’d love more of that.

What about the Bear and the Hare as well!

JaneJeffer · 04/11/2025 15:29

For really menacing you need the Argos ad

PacersSpanglesandaCabanabar · 04/11/2025 15:32

Is it sponsored by Fathers 4 Justice? How to placate the family abuser, just for one day.

If people are projecting their bad experiences onto this ad, that's because what is depicted chimes with their bad memories of walking on eggshells, on a day that's supposed to be joyous, because of the behaviour of an adult and/or the atmosphere created by them.

Crunchymum · 04/11/2025 15:33

JaneJeffer · 04/11/2025 15:29

For really menacing you need the Argos ad

Well yes this is a tad more menacing

Not a bad effort though!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ475ZB43kw

ifIwerenotanandroid · 04/11/2025 15:37

cardibach · 04/11/2025 15:10

Dad isn’t deadbeat. He’s right there cleaning up after Christmas present unwrapping. And he hasn’t given up on anything.
The story is about the man and boy in this instance so the women aren't foregrounded (we could say that happens too often I guess) but the whole family are taking part in the clear up.

Well, you see what you see in it. I see a miserable family having a Christmas nobody wants or enjoys, where the women do the cooking & housework while the son slopes off to his room & Dad swiftly abandons tidying up to play with his new toy & feel sorry for himself.

I said he'd given up on his son because he doesn't seem to have any memories of the kid between being a little boy & being a teenager. I expect Mum spent those years doing the school run, feeding the kids & talking to them, though, so that's alright.

As I say, I'm not a natural JL customer, but that's the impression I got from a first viewing. Maybe I should watch it again to check, but I honestly couldn't bear it.

PistachioTiramisu · 04/11/2025 15:38

I just thought it was boring and didn't see the point of it. Not a bit Christmassy!

LillianGish · 04/11/2025 15:39

I love it! Choosing that track is a stroke of genius for me and not just for the lyrics - it appeals across the generations. My son "introduced" me to this track on holiday last year! He had just discovered it and was overjoyed to learn that I already loved it so much. I must confess the advert made me cry because I actually experienced a lot of the emotions shown by the dad - remembering how I used to dance to it before I had even met DS's dad. I remember looking at DS, thinking of all the great holidays we'd had together over the years and wondering where the time had gone and a feeling of inexpressible joy that everything that had happened had brought us to this place where we were listening to Alison Limerick together with DS on the decks. It was a realisation that this was indeed where the love lives. It sounds so incredibly cheesy when I write it down and my kids think I'm a hopeless old softy, but that advert absolutely nails that emotion. I can't wait to show them. I think our kids love it when they get to see a bit of the younger us, the bit before we were a parent. I love the fact that the dad is remembering his baby boy, but the son is also getting a little window into his dad's youth.

ParkMaiden · 04/11/2025 15:39

PudgeJudy · 04/11/2025 09:58

I’m assuming that father and son have a fractious relationship and struggle to show each other their love (maybe even forget it sometimes inside the frustration of their everyday interactions). The album is the son showing his dad that he does care enough to know what makes him happy, whilst the thoughtfulness of the gift reminds dad how much he loves his son, whatever other issues they may have.

Yep. It’s really clever and look! We are all talking about it. Tbh I can’t remember the last few years JL adverts and this one is going to go viral. Ad agency has pulled a blinder.

XelaM · 04/11/2025 15:40

Wow I just watched the dog on trampoline and hare & bear JL Christmas adverts and both made me cry. They were so lovely! 😻 Not idea what they were thinking with this year's rubbish.

Crunchymum · 04/11/2025 15:40

tokennamechange · 04/11/2025 15:20

Particularly because some of the people calling others "hysterical" for not liking it are admitting to crying over an advert.

Nothing wrong with showing your emotions but if anything is closer to a hysterical over reaction it's sobbing over a mawkish ad for a middle class department store, not making a snarky comment on a chat forum.

But most people who found the advert emotional haven't called anyone hysterical, yet you are telling them they are having a hysterical overreaction?

Not sure what point you are trying to make but this isn't kind either?

cardibach · 04/11/2025 15:41

Horsie · 04/11/2025 15:15

You're right OP - this is horrific, and probably the least Christmassy "ad" I've ever seen. Also doesn't make sense. If he's reliving his clubbing years, why would his son be there???

You have to be joking for effect?
I don’t believe you don’t get the symbolism.
To help you out in case you are serious:
He’s not clubbing, he’s remembering clubbing.
He’s remembering it because of the present his son bought.
He notices his son standing there waiting to see if he liked it.
He remembers his son’s birth and early years, which cuts through his clubbing memories.
He gigs his son.

LilyCanna · 04/11/2025 15:41

The first time I saw it I wasn't concentrating at the beginning and thought it was one present under the tree before Christmas so was really confused why the dad was opening it already. It doesn't make any more sense really as 'son doesn't tell dad he's got a present for him but just leaves it under the tree' - why? That's so weird. Son creeps down the stairs looking apprehensive. Then massively long flashback of dad clubbing. Then the whole fading to black, in a sinister 'someone's died' way. Another flashback to dad holding baby, shedding tears. Dad and teenage son embrace like someone's died. Obviously it's a Marmite ad, with some people saying they found it moving, but I just think it's rubbish storytelling, taking a decent idea and executing it badly.

cardibach · 04/11/2025 15:42

FacePlanting · 04/11/2025 15:16

Didn't see the son doing much clearing up tbh.

He’s taking presents upstairs off the table

Horsie · 04/11/2025 15:43

cardibach · 04/11/2025 15:41

You have to be joking for effect?
I don’t believe you don’t get the symbolism.
To help you out in case you are serious:
He’s not clubbing, he’s remembering clubbing.
He’s remembering it because of the present his son bought.
He notices his son standing there waiting to see if he liked it.
He remembers his son’s birth and early years, which cuts through his clubbing memories.
He gigs his son.

Yes, I realise that he's remembering clubbing and is not actually clubbing. The clue is in what I wrote: "He's reliving clubbing."

I thought I was clear that it didn't make sense for his son to be in his clubbing memories, but apparently not.

cardibach · 04/11/2025 15:44

notacooldad · 04/11/2025 15:18

I can’t think of a profession that involves house visits to teens that doesn’t mean there’s been some issue for the teens. Maybe not ND, but an issue.

I didnt say the focus of my visit was for the teen. However I always make time to chat and see how things are even if they are not part of my case load, like I do if a grandparent or family friend is in the house when I call.

So there are issues in the house then?
Obviously some teens just like headphones/music. But many who wear them all the time, round their neck when not actively using them, often have reason to do so.

Horsie · 04/11/2025 15:44

LilyCanna · 04/11/2025 15:41

The first time I saw it I wasn't concentrating at the beginning and thought it was one present under the tree before Christmas so was really confused why the dad was opening it already. It doesn't make any more sense really as 'son doesn't tell dad he's got a present for him but just leaves it under the tree' - why? That's so weird. Son creeps down the stairs looking apprehensive. Then massively long flashback of dad clubbing. Then the whole fading to black, in a sinister 'someone's died' way. Another flashback to dad holding baby, shedding tears. Dad and teenage son embrace like someone's died. Obviously it's a Marmite ad, with some people saying they found it moving, but I just think it's rubbish storytelling, taking a decent idea and executing it badly.

Agree. Stupid ad.

Upstartled · 04/11/2025 15:44

cardibach · 04/11/2025 15:41

You have to be joking for effect?
I don’t believe you don’t get the symbolism.
To help you out in case you are serious:
He’s not clubbing, he’s remembering clubbing.
He’s remembering it because of the present his son bought.
He notices his son standing there waiting to see if he liked it.
He remembers his son’s birth and early years, which cuts through his clubbing memories.
He gigs his son.

If you have to spend this long telling everyone how it is @cardibach, how can you think this advert is any good? Are you going to be outraged at everyone who doesn't get it? Did you make it? 😆

HeadDeskHeadDesk · 04/11/2025 15:46

Well it made me well up with tears. I agree it's intense but I think you are supposed to feel a sense of unease at the beginning. It hints at a message of loss and distance. They've obviously had a falling out, or life is now a series of fallings out, as if often the case with teens.

The dad no longer understands his son and feels sad that his little boy has gone and been replaced with this 'man' who is always combative, or secretive or surly. They have lost the the ability to communicate without it descending into one or other of them feeling disrespected or misunderstood.

The dad feels rejected and worries that his son has become selfish and dismissive of him. Classic coming of age, parent v. teen dynamics.

The boy has put an awful lot of thought into that gift at a time when his dad probably feels he's incapable of thought for anyone but himself.

I think it's a powerful way to say how much he loves and respects his dad, at a time when he might struggle to say it in words. I loved it.

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