Skip to main content

Happy John Lewis Day, everyone!

Image
By
The true meaning of (John Lewis at) Christmas

Ho Ho Ho! Merry JL Day!

There may still be over five weeks until Christmas, but that doesn’t matter when there’s stuff to sell. Lest we forget, John Lewis & Partners’ eagerly-awaited Christmas advert was by no means the first from a major retailer either.

With years of classic ads behind them, including a hare waking up a hibernating bear, a penguin called Monty, trampolining wildlife and an old bloke on the moon, 2018’s outing was always going to have a hard time matching it’s predecessors. It even had to contend with the re-branding Bohemian Rhapsody-school-play advert from just a few weeks ago, which was widely applauded.

So, what did we get? Elton John. In reverse. Featuring the Prima Donna’s life in “Your Song” moments, from him sitting at his piano in the present day, through his assorted outrageous looks, and back to him receiving the same piano as a child.

Wow. Elt’s folks were minted then. A piano? I used to think getting a 30 pack of felt tip pens and a bar of chocolate was pretty good. Or are we meant to buy an Elton? Sorry, but I’m confused. What am I meant to take from this? The tag line is “Some gifts are more than just a gift”. Ah, OK – maybe your little ‘un is a future star who battles drug addiction, argues with staff at airports and has a hair transplant – quick, buy them something expensive so they’ll look back on it fondly in a major retailer’s advertising campaign one day.

Still, the CGI of different-era Eltons is impressive - and of course it’s coincidence that the Piano Man has tour tickets on sale, and a biopic coming out next year. Maybe the ad should have ended with “A piano is for life, not just for Christmas”.

Much better is the other John Lewis advert. This one is a guy of that name who lives in Virginia, and has the twitter handle @johnlewis. Despite making it abundantly clear that he is “not a retail store” he still receives more than 100 tweets a day with queries aimed at the shopping emporium.

Quietly becoming a legend with his witty replies to their customers, Twitter have made him his own Christmas advert, featuring the man himself and a suitably ballad-styled version of “In The Bleak Midwinter”.

Catch it if you can. It might take your mind of seeing Elton every time you turn your TV on.

This post first appeared as my "A wry look at the week" column, in The Mail, on Friday the 23rd of November 2018. The version used on their website was re-titled as "US Lewis is the real festive treat". Can't tell you about the print edition... it's still missing in action.

 Just in case you haven't managed to see it yet, here's @johnlewis in action:



(CD A-Z: ELO's "Flashback" box set. Lovely.)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Malaysian Grand Prix - Vettel hot, but not bothered

By
Malaysia. It's always hot, and it always rains. Except the 2nd part is no longer true (unless you count the drizzly bit around lap 14). Saturday's qualifying session had highlighted the fact that Red Bull and McLaren seemed well matched on pace, but also that Ferrari were struggling. Whilst Vettel bagged another pole, followed by Hamilton, Webber and Button, Alonso was only 5th, and Massa 7th, with Nick Heidfeld an excellent 6th on the grid between the two red cars. At this point, I would like to break momentarily for a small rant: How many times do I have to say Heidfeld is good? Why wasn't he given a top drive years ago? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! ARE YOU BLIND!!!?? Ahem. The Hispanias somehow managed to a) turn up b) remember to bring cars c) get both of them on the track d) actually get both of them within 107%. Pretty remarkable really. Oh, and it didn't rain. Race day looked a more likely candidate for a drop of the wet stuff. The start was exciting, with...
5 comments
Read more

A fisful of change at the shops

By
A recent day out reminded me how much the retail experience has altered during my lifetime – and it’s not all good. I could stop typing this, and buy a fridge, in a matter of seconds. The shops are shut and it’s 9pm, but I could still place the order and arrange delivery. I haven’t got to wander round a white-goods retail emporium trying to work out which slightly different version of something that keeps my cider cold is better. It’ll be cheaper, too. But in amongst the convenience, endless choice and bargains, we’ve lost some of the personal, human, touches that used to make a trip to the shops something more than just a daily chore. Last weekend, we visited a local coastal town. Amongst the shops selling over-priced imported home accessories (who doesn’t need another roughly-hewn wooden heart, poorly painted and a bargain at £10?) was one that looked different. It’s window allowed you to see in, rather than being plastered with stick-on graphics and special offers calling ...
2 comments
Read more

Suffering from natural obsolescence

By
You know you’re getting old when it dawns on you that you’re outliving technological breakthroughs. You know the sort of thing – something revolutionary, that heralds a seismic shift it the way the modern world operates. Clever, time-saving, breathtaking and life-changing (and featuring a circuit board). It’s the future, baby! Until it isn’t any more. I got to pondering this when we laughed heartily in the office about someone asking if our camcorder used “tape”. Tape? Get with the times, Daddy-o! If it ain’t digital then for-get-it! I then attempted to explain to an impossibly young colleague that video tape in a camcorder was indeed once a “thing”, requiring the carrying of something the size of a briefcase around on your shoulder, containing batteries normally reserved for a bus, and a start-up time from pressing ‘Record’ so lengthy, couples were already getting divorced by the time it was ready to record them saying “I do”. After explaining what tape was, I realised I’d ...
Post a Comment
Read more