When it comes to holiday advertising, few companies do it bigger (and better!) than John Lewis & Partners.
The high-end chain of department stores in the UK is known for its memorable Christmas ads. Generally, the ads spark nostalgia and emotions in their viewers, bringing us back to happier, simpler times. In regards to their 2018 campaign, Craig Inglis, John Lewis customer director, told Marketing Week:
โThink back to all the Christmases that you have enjoyed over the yearsโ Iโm sure there is one special gift that stands out above all others. Thatโs the magical feeling we wanted to bring to life this year.โ
Teaming up with superstar Sir Elton John for their 2018 campaign, John Lewis & Partners decided to focus on pivotal moments in the performerโs life.
The advert begins with current-day Sir Elton playing the beginning notes of his first hit, โYour Songโ. Then, the room starts spinning, bringing us back through the special moments of his life.
Weโre transported through his experiences as a big celebrity in a stadium, a small-time singer in a pubโ going all the way back to his childhood years when he was still only a music enthusiast.
Each featured moment helped Sir Elton to become the person he is today, but John Lewis & Partners save the singerโs most life-changing event for last.
In Sir Eltonโs most life-changing moment, we see him as a young boy on Christmas morning unwrapping his first piano.
Yes, Eltonโs very first piano was a Christmas gift from his grandmotherโ no exaggerations for the sake of advertising here.
โSome gifts are more than gifts,โ the ad reads.
Like most John Lewis & Partner Christmas ads, this one is a tear-jerker. After it was released, in a statement, Sir Elton said: โThe John Lewis Christmas campaign has so many warm memories for me and my family.โ
โItโs been a lovely opportunity for me to reflect on my life in music and the incredible journey I have been on, and how first playing my grandmotherโs piano marks the moment when music came into my life.โ
โThe ad is absolutely fantastic, and Iโve truly loved every minute being a part of it.โ
In addition to โThe Boy and the Pianoโ commercial, John Lewis & Partners incorporated Elton themes into other areas of their Christmas campaign, as well.
Every 30 minutes, their flagship branch in London has a musical light show to Eltonโs music. Additionally, a large Yamaha piano has been placed in 15 stores for customers to play.
John Lewis has also created short ads associating products with different Elton songsโ but as you can imagine, the main commercial was always meant to be the piรจce de rรฉsistance. In fact, the retailer spent half of its $10 million budget on paying Sir Elton alone.
Since being uploaded to YouTube, the tear-jerking advertising has been viewed 12 million times.
โThe feels, man. This is such a great commercial.โ
โAnyone else get chills watching this?โ
โThat actually got me in tears.โ
Watch the heartwarming video below.
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