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John Lewis and it’s ‘gender relaxed’ ad

634 replies

SouthernFashionista · 11/10/2021 19:44

Curious to hear thoughts on the new ad from John Lewis. It strikes me as sinister. Why does a small child have to send out a message of LGBTQ equality? Why is he acting like a drag queen.

OP posts:
BernardBlackMissesLangCleg · 13/10/2021 19:03

This does LGBT+ kids no favours at all.

that's part of what's so puzzling - it's not even good propaganda

ThinkAboutItTomorrow · 13/10/2021 19:05

@Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet

I imagine post pandemic there have been lots of parents trying to let kids have fun in lockdown and having to put up with the mess and destruction. I remember a long and boring January where we frequently trashed the house to entertain bored small kids.

What, you tipped your kids paints all over the floor whilst they were happily painting, chucked your shoes at the light fittings and stood on the dining room table chucking glitter everywhere?

My house was a complete mess in most of lockdown, but not because I had let my spoilt brat of a son deliberately and aggressively trash it because he was 'expressing himself' or whatever horseshit the explanation is supposed to be.

And anyway, as others have pointed out, JL insurance wouldn't cover this sort of wilful damage, so the ad is pointless anyway.

Showing the reality of lockdown boredom would not have made for much of an ad. It's meant as slapstick.

I agree that it's not a great ad. They miss the music for starters.

Whitefire · 13/10/2021 19:13

Nothing slapstick about that whatsoever.

SickAndTiredAgain · 13/10/2021 19:13

@ThinkAboutItTomorrow

I think they are trying to tap into an insight around being able to be relaxed about kids being kids.

Persil used the same insight for years with their 'dirt is good' campaign.

I imagine post pandemic there have been lots of parents trying to let kids have fun in lockdown and having to put up with the mess and destruction. I remember a long and boring January where we frequently trashed the house to entertain bored small kids.

I think the sex of the kid is irrelevant and could easily be swapped.

I agree about what they were aiming for. I think there was also a calpol advert that was along the lines of calpol getting kids back to their normal selves, and showing kids being silly/cheeky/messy /generally weird like kids are.

The differences for me are the JL advert has the boy being very deliberate, particularly with ruining his sister’s paint. The mess isn’t a side effect of “kids being kids”, he is just being unpleasant. And those other adverts weren’t selling home insurance that I find it hard to believe would pay out in this situation. Calpol isn’t implying they will fix the mess made. And Persil claiming to be able to get mud out of clothes is probably correct. It’s just annoying, and that would be the case even if they did switch the sex of the child.

The 2015 ad is also a weird ad for home insurance, since it doesn’t show anything you would need home insurance for. But the behaviour of the girl and any mess she does make (which is really minimal, just some paper flying around) actually is just a side effect of kids being kids. She’s not doing anything to the house on purpose, and there’s definitely no meanness, which there is with the boy and his sister.

suckingonchillidogs · 13/10/2021 19:15

It's just really weird. What if you make your claims, get everything cleaned and tidied up and Reggie feels the need to "express himself" again - JL gonna keep paying up?? Oi Reggie, have a word with yourself

Itsanewdah · 13/10/2021 19:23

“ that's part of what's so puzzling - it's not even good propaganda”
Maybe thatbis because it isn’t propaganda- just a fairly stupid add? Working in big companies in design/advertising, i can more or less assure you that things like colours etc are hardly ever planned in any sort of rational way (unless its apple etc, but JL - I would be extremely surprised). The chance of this being actual “propaganda” (for WHAT?) is pretty much zero,
The likeliest version is some sort of random reasoning in the room for colour selection (first 5 people name favourite colours etc), a haphazard filming process with some overexcited child actors and some random last minute decisions…..

merrymouse · 13/10/2021 19:25

@ThinkAboutItTomorrow

This is the ad from 2015 that was very similar.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=YqgoUWPx4eE

They've just gone a step beyond to show a) actual destruction and b) the benefit of the insurance being you can relax and 'let life happen' knowing you're covered.

I don't work for JL by the way 😂

But insurance doesn’t cover deliberate damage.
KimikosNightmare · 13/10/2021 19:27

I've had a look at the Persil "Dirt is Good" campaign, which they are still running. They are quite charming.

This one is a work of art compared to John Lewis.

Clymene · 13/10/2021 19:28

I don't believe it's just happenstance that he trails turquoise and pink along the bannister and then sticks his hands in turquoise and pink paint and smears them on his cheeks.

It's deliberate

Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet · 13/10/2021 19:28

@ThinkAboutItTomorrow

I'm not saying it's a great ad, just that it's not a huge trans capture
So why was the boy wearing a dress then? If that same boy had been wearing tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt and had aggressively trashed his house and ruined his sisters activity like that, no one would be thinking it's really 'joyful' or funny, everyone would think 'that's a terrible message to send, that that behaviour is acceptable'.

But because he is wearing a dress and makeup it's hilarious and something to be celebrated?

No thank you.

Artichokeleaves · 13/10/2021 19:31

A boy in drag, hurling glitter, puts the paint of a political lobby on his face.

No. That really isn't innocent or accidental, you can't seriously be that naiive.

Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet · 13/10/2021 19:32

@Itsanewdah

“ that's part of what's so puzzling - it's not even good propaganda” Maybe thatbis because it isn’t propaganda- just a fairly stupid add? Working in big companies in design/advertising, i can more or less assure you that things like colours etc are hardly ever planned in any sort of rational way (unless its apple etc, but JL - I would be extremely surprised). The chance of this being actual “propaganda” (for WHAT?) is pretty much zero, The likeliest version is some sort of random reasoning in the room for colour selection (first 5 people name favourite colours etc), a haphazard filming process with some overexcited child actors and some random last minute decisions…..
Really?

So it's just coincidence that he trails pink and blue crayon down the bannister and then paints his face with the same colours?

Gastonia · 13/10/2021 19:36

I feel this ad will be used in future years - but not in the way JL intended Grin

Itsanewdah · 13/10/2021 19:40

@Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet you are interpreting waaaaay to much into JL. I’m working with that sort if stuff daily, we’ve had lovely combinations - none of them the slightest bit intentional (many of the, funny, some dragic).
@Artichokeleaves he’s not in drag. Its a child in a dress. Wearing a dress is not drag.

Artichokeleaves · 13/10/2021 19:42

Desmond is Amazing. Go and look him up. He's not the only one.

Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet · 13/10/2021 19:44

he’s not in drag. Its a child in a dress. Wearing a dress is not drag.

It's not just the dress though is it? I can almost hear the kid saying 'work it, bitch' as he sashays down the stairs.

Three0fivepointfour · 13/10/2021 19:45

Desmond is Amazing seems to think that the ad is very Desmond is Amazing.

hedgehogger1 · 13/10/2021 19:47

Just watched it. He's a little shit that needs some forum boundaries. He's deliberately trashing the house

Lordamighty · 13/10/2021 19:50

Yeah Desmond thinks they totally stole his look. Of course it’s a boy doing drag.

Clymene · 13/10/2021 19:53

[quote Itsanewdah]@Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet you are interpreting waaaaay to much into JL. I’m working with that sort if stuff daily, we’ve had lovely combinations - none of them the slightest bit intentional (many of the, funny, some dragic).
@Artichokeleaves he’s not in drag. Its a child in a dress. Wearing a dress is not drag.[/quote]
It's really complete coincidence that he uses the same two colours in both bits? And they just happen to be the trans colours?

Bollocks

MoltenLasagne · 13/10/2021 19:57

Oh total coincidence... chinny reckon.

PigeonLittle · 13/10/2021 20:03

I really like this advert!

Piapiano · 13/10/2021 20:06

@PigeonLittle

I really like this advert!
Why?
JumperandJacket · 13/10/2021 20:09

Comparison with the 2015 ad just shows how bad this one is- that one features a child dancing, lost in the moment and therefore endangering possessions but no actual destruction and absolutely no intention to destroy anything.

This one is the complete opposite. It's not just the sex angle that bothers me (male messes things up while long-suffering females look on) but also the money/entitlement- don't worry about smashing everything up, someone will clean it up, someone will pay for a new one. Urgh.

JL have already said in Twitter that it's not actually supposed to represent a scenario the insurance would cover. What a screw up.

Also such a shame as I'm all for GNC children being represented on TV- bring it on! Not just a wasted opportunity but actively harmful.

JemimaTab · 13/10/2021 20:11

So I guess it’s all about the boy being able to express himself (albeit via destruction, aggression and bullying). But his sister is trying to express herself too, by painting, and somehow she’s not allowed. Nice message.