JOHN Lewis’ 2023 Christmas advert is just around the corner and to celebrate we round-up all of the offerings from the store over the years.
The John Lewis Christmas ad is usually the most anticipated one and signals that the festive period has well and truly begun.
18
The day has finally come, this year’s 90-second video is here and it is bound to leave you feeling festive.
More than half a dozen Christmas adverts have already been released, marking the start of the season.
M&S took things in a different direction this year with their ad starring Hannah Waddingham and Sophie Ellis Bextor, offering a different take on festive celebrations.
Lidl chose to use its Christmas advert to highlight a good cause this season launching it with a toy collection campaign.
Asda‘s Christmas advert features global superstar Michael Bublé and Aldi has brought back Kevin the carrot.
But John Lewis’ Christmas ad always proves to be one of, if not, the most popular of them all.
To make you feel nostalgic, we have rounded up every single John Lewis Christmas advert that’s aired since 2007.
2007 – Shadows
18
John Lewis 2007 Christmas ad shows random items creating a moving shadow
In John Lewis’ first Christmas advert, people piled gifts together to create shadows that looked like a woman walking her dog through the snow and having a drink at a party.
It featured the tagline “Whoever you’re looking for this Christmas”.
The memorable ad was before the era that John Lewis adverts created a huge buzz as social media was barely even a thing at this point.
The music used was Prokofiev’s morning serenade from Romeo and Juliet.
2008 – From Me To You
18
John Lewis 2008 Christmas ad aims to prove there’s a perfect gift for everyone
This was probably the most basic John Lewis advert – and the most boring.
Set to a cover of The Beatles’ From Me To You, it showed how you can find the perfect present for different characters in your life.
It ended with the message: “If you know the person, you’ll find the present.”
2009 – Sweet Child O’ Mine
18
John Lewis 2009 Christmas ad shows children opening presents meant for adults
This was the first year that John Lewis used an acoustic cover of a popular song from the charts.
Taken By Trees covered Guns N Roses’s Sweet Child Of Mine as the song for the commercial – and it peaked at No23.
It’s a sweet advert which shows children opening adult presents such as an e-reader and large slippers, and says at the end: “Remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling.”
But do you remember it? Neither do we.
2010 – A Tribute To Givers
18
Christmas ads: John Lewis 2010
Ellie Goulding recorded a cover version of Elton John‘s Your Song for this advert – the same tune that appeared in the 2018 film.
But it’s probably the only thing you remember about this advert, which was about the lengths that people go to to surprise their friends and relatives on Christmas Day.
It ends with the words “For those who care about showing they care”.
2011 – The Long Wait
18
Little boy has a surprising long wait in the 2011 John Lewis Christmas ad
This was the first year John Lewis used its advert to tell a whole story, and it made the nation weep.
It told the story of a little boy impatiently waiting for Christmas and all because he wants to give a heartfelt gift to his two sleepy parents on Christmas morning.
It was set to Slow Moving Millie’s cover of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths. The tagline was “For gifts you can’t wait to give”.
This was the film that cemented the department store’s reputation as the best Christmas advertiser so we think that has to put it at the top of the list.
2012 – The Journey
18
Hankies at the ready for the tearjerking 2012 John Lewis Christmas ad
It’s often forgotten but John Lewis’s tale of a snowman who travels over mountains and through horrible weather to bring his snow-girlfriend a scarf to keep her warm was very touching.
It was set to a Gabrielle Aplin cover of The Power of Love by Frankie Goes To Hollywood and had many people shedding tears at the time.
It was the first John Lewis ad track that reached No1 in the singles chart after Ellie Goulding’s Your Song peaked at No2 in 2010.
It finished with the line “Get a little more love this Christmas”.
2013 – The Bear And The Hare
18
Lily Allen sings ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ by Keane for 2013 John Lewis Christmas ad
This charming animated tale tells the story of a bear who has never seen Christmas so his animal friends buy him an alarm clock so he can wake up from hibernation just for the day.
Lily Allen sang a cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know – and it became her third No1 UK single. It’s closing line is “Give someone a Christmas they’ll never forget”.
People went wild for the story at the time and a lot of people on Twitter call it the best John Lewis ad the department store has ever made.
2014 – Monty The Penguin
18
Monty the Penguin is the star of the 2014 John Lewis Christmas advert
This was the heartwrenching advert about a little boy and his friend Monty The Penguin who wants to find love at Christmas.
He’s revealed to be the boy’s stuffed toy – and under the Christmas tree is a girl penguin toy for Monty to fall in love with.
It featured the tagline “Give someone the Christmas they’ve been dreaming of” and was accompanied by Tom Odell singing John Lennon‘s Real Love.
If people don’t say The Bear And The Hare is their favourite, they often choose 2014’s advert as the John Lewis ad they like the best.
2015 – Man on the Moon
18
‘Man on the Moon’ for the 2015 John Lewis Christmas advert, with Aurora singing ‘Half the World Away’ by Oasis
This advert with the line “Show someone they’re loved this Christmas” really tugged on people’s heartstrings.
It told the story of a little girl who spots a lonely old man living on the moon through her telescope.
She finds a way to float presents over to him on balloons so he can enjoy Christmas Day too as Aurora’s cover of Oasis‘ Half The World Away plays in the background.
It’s one of John Lewis’s most sentimental and emotional Christmas adverts and definitely had people crying across the nation.
2016 – Buster the Boxer
18
Buster the bouncing Boxer is star of John Lewis Christmas advert 2016
John Lewis decided to mix it up with Buster The Boxer in 2016 by having a funny advert rather than a gut-wrenching sentimental one.
It told the tale of a dog who was desperate to bounce on his family’s trampoline.
He had to watch foxes, a badger and a hedgehog have fun while his family were asleep.
Then as the little girl runs towards her gift on Christmas Day, Buster gets to it first and starts bouncing. The funny ad ended with “Gifts that everyone will love” and Vaults provided the backing track with a cover of Randy Crawford’s One Day I’ll Fly Away.
Fans loved it, but some people were left a bit disappointed as they didn’t feel like it packed as much of an emotional punch as in previous years.
2017 -Moz the Monster
18
John Lewis 2017 Christmas advert follows a seven-year-old boy scared of a monster snoozing under his bed — but eventually bond and become friends over a fart
The 2017 advert was about a cuddly blue monster called Moz who befriended a little boy called Joe.
They stayed up together all night every night until Moz realises Joe needs to sleep at night so leaves him a present of a night light under the Christmas tree.
People weren’t as fond of Moz as they were of Buster or Monty, but they still found the advert cute.
But John Lewis was accused of stealing the character from an existing children’s book.
And it was said to be the least successful campaign John Lewis ran in five years.
It featured the tagline “For gifts that brighten their world” and The Beatles‘ song Golden Slumbers performed by Elbow, which reached No29 in the charts.
2018 – The Boy And The Piano
18
John Lewis Christmas advert 2018 – Watch new ad with Elton John singing Your Song in full
In the 2018 John Lewis ad Elton John starred in its most showbiz-inspired advert yet.
Viewers were taken through key moments in his life, including stadium tours, travelling on a private jet, playing at his local pub and performing at a school.
But it had a mixed reaction on social media, with not everyone loving the festive ad.
It spanned the veteran singer’s life and showed how a gift of a piano from his grandmother helped make him the international superstar he is today.
And for once it didn’t feature a cover-version of a song, but Elton himself singing his hit Your Song.
The tagline was “Some gifts are more than just a gift”.
2019 – Excitable Edgar
18
John Lewis releases its eagerly anticipated Christmas advert starring Excitable Edgar
The 2019 advert is a heart-warming tale of a dragon called Excitable Edgar set in a far-away mythical land.
The ad – the first joint-effort with John Lewis’ sister retailer Waitrose – follows young girl Ava and her friendship with a cute young dragon as his accidental fire-breathing nearly ruins Christmas.
Edgar loves Christmas but every time he gets excited he uncontrollably breathes fire into the medieval-style village causing comical catastrophes.
The two and a half minute John Lewis Christmas advert follows the pair as they join in with seasonal activities.
It’s backing track is a cover by Bastille’s Dan Smith of 80s classic Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon.
The ad, known as Excitable Edgar, ends with the strapline “Show them how much you care”.
2020 – Give A Little Love
18
John Lewis Christmas advert 2020 – Give A Little Love ad sees impact of random acts of kindness in lockdown
In a nod to the Covid pandemic which ground the country to a standstill, John Lewis’ 2020 Christmas advert was inspired by random acts of kindness during lockdown.
Similarly, Amazon’s Christmas advert from 2020 told the story of a wannabe ballet dancer whose performance is cancelled by coronavirus too.
But the John Lewis one features different acts of kindness through nine different live action and animation scenes.
Heart-warming shots include a little girl helping a boy get his football down from the tree using a heart umbrella, a group of pigeons taking a sad hedgehog on a ride in a plane, and a young couple delivering a bag of shopping to two pensioners.
The ad was put together mostly via Zoom because of the Covid lockdowns, and features an original song by British soul singer Celeste.
Eight artists helped create the different scenes, including Chris Hopewell, who has created music videos for Radiohead and Franz Ferdinand, and French animator Sylvian Chomet.
2021 – The Unexpected Guest
18
John Lewis Christmas advert 2022 – Emotional ad about foster dad is guaranteed to have you in tears
John Lewis’ 2021 advert was released earlier than ever, on November 5, much to the delight of the store’s fans, and John Lewis said it wanted to reflect how shoppers were buying Christmas items earlier than usual.
In its 2021 Christmas ad called The Unexpected Guest, a teenage boy called Nathan meets an alien named Skye who has crash landed on earth.
Through friendship Nathan shows Skye a series of festive family traditions.
They decorate a tree, eat mince pies, throw snowballs, and watch a Christmas movie.
But the advert has a bittersweet ending, as Skye has fixed her ship and must return home.
In a tear-jerking moment, Nathan gifts Skye his Christmas jumper – the same one he was wearing the day they met.
The soundtrack is performed by Lola Young, a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from South London, with a version of “Together in Electric Dreams”.
2022 – The Beginner
18
John Lewis Christmas advert 2022 – Emotional ad about foster dad is guaranteed to have you in tears
The John Lewis 2022 advert was released a little later this year on November 10.
This year, the retailer wanted to use its ad, named The Beginner, to help raise awareness of some of the most vulnerable children in the country.
It follows a middle-aged man as he struggles to master the skill of skateboarding.
He has a few mishaps and tumbles off the skateboard a number of times.
His wife looks bemused at his efforts and concerned when he struggles to put the star on the top of the Christmas tree due to his aching muscles – but he perseveres with the slightly odd hobby.
You’re left wondering why he’s so determined to learn to skate until the final scene, where there’s a knock at their front door.
We see a social worker standing with Ellie, a young teenager, who is waiting anxiously to enter her new foster home, with a skateboard in her hand.
The importance of the skateboard suddenly becomes clear as the man says he likes to skate too.
You realise that he has been looking for a way to find common ground with Ellie.
It ends by saying: “Over 108,000 children in the UK are in the care system.
“We’re making a long-term commitment to support the futures of young people from care.”
It is the heartfelt story of one man’s determination to connect with a child, showing the power that kindness can make to someone else’s life.
The accompanying soundtrack is a cover of Blink 182’s All The Small Things sung by little-known US artist Mike Geier.
2023 – Traditions Grow
18
John Lewis Christmas advert 2022 – Emotional ad about foster dad is guaranteed to have you in tears
The ten-second teaser for its annual Xmas advert, shared on social media, shows a young boy asking his gran if he can have a box containing a seed for a “grow your own perfect Christmas tree.”
Text which reads “John Lewis November 9″ then flashes on the screen – hinting ad the ad’s release.
It is shown alongside the hashtag #TraditionsGrow.
It is not yet known which song will feature in the ad.
Fans responded to the advert teaser and shared their excitement ahead of its release.
One YouTube user said: “You know it’s Christmas when John Lewis has got a new advert on the way!”
While another said: “Okay, okay, now I’m very excited.”
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, one John Lewis fan said: “Love it! It’s going to be a good one.”
