A boy puts on his mother’s dress, jewellery and heels and creates havoc across his house.
A John Lewis commercial has delighted many with the high sense of fun and a carefree devil-may-care attitude, all in the name of home insurance.
But it upset some on social media for the gender issue -- a sexualised and entitled boy -- and home damage.
The one minute clip, created by agency adam&eveDDB, shows a nine-year-old's trail of accidental damage as he gives an enthusiastic and dramatic performance to the soundtrack Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks and ends with the strapline Let Life Happen.
The UK company told AdNews: “At John Lewis, we believe in children having fun and that’s why we chose this playful storyline for our latest advert.
“It’s designed to show the young actor getting carried away with his dramatic performance, unaware of the unintentional consequences of his actions.”
Australian creatives point to branding being an issue. The commercial is beautifully done but will viewers remember the brand, that this is a home insurance ad?
Michael Klaehn at QUT College: “OMG this makes me really anxious. I can’t help but hope there was only one take, imagine having to clean up all of that all the time.
“My reaction to that is exactly what they are after, all of those things that just happen for no reason at all. Things to close to the edge, too full, accidently smacked off the table, we’ve all been there.
“This is everyone’s house at some point. That’s what makes it work. But… it could be any insurance company so the link to the brand is not strong at all.”
Independent creative Adrian Elton: "A tzar is born. But who is this precocious little sh*t destroying the family home while obliterating grandma's prized heirloom tzotchkes.
“If you believe John Lewis, it doesn't really matter, because when you have their accidental home insurance coverage, you can just 'let life happen'.
“From the opening 'chuga-chug' of the Stevie Nicks classic, to the spray of white downy pillow feathers, the spot does everything John Lewis ads do so well. And that's to raise advertising up from the 'shmattes', by crafting cultural touchstone moments that momentarily galvanise us at a time when we're bound by nothing much more than contempt.
“Apart from being beautifully shot and produced, right down to the brilliant use of foley, it will no doubt ruffle the feathers of those who think that little boys should be seen playing football as opposed to flamboyant dress-ups. But f*ck 'em, right? This is the zeitgeist. And it's sparkly."
Georgia Phillips, COO, Luma Research: “This cracker of an ad from John Lewis has it all. It is highly engaging and enjoyable to watch due to the striking visuals and use of the advertising trifecta – humour, awesome music (Stevie Nicks) and great casting (cute kid with attitude). These elements make the ad highly likeable and also memorable.
“The ad would leave people feeling good, and along with humour, will trigger feelings of warmth. Whilst it's exaggerated, the story is relatable. I think we can all empathise with going a little stir crazy at home during lockdowns and then dancing like no-one is watching.
“Who wouldn’t love to dress up and run around doing whatever we wanted!? There are also two beautiful scenes that bring the ad back down into reality and they are the curious and confused looks from the boy’s sister and mum.
“And the refreshing thing about this ad is that it is original for the category and breaks all the category norms. Typically Insurance ads tend to show car breakdowns, storm damage to a house or a plumbing disaster and it is tricky to make those scenarios engaging.
“But one element I imagine could be a challenge for this ad is branding. As a new service for UK retailer John Lewis, I would have thought branding would be a major priority. They have resorted to a watermark in the top right corner – in my experience they don’t work as consumers screen them out of vision, but perhaps John Lewis will support the brand through other channels.
Claire Pointon, customer director for John Lewis said; “We wanted to inject joy, freedom and humour into this campaign. The story we landed on fulfils this, with the idea that when you have John Lewis’ Home Insurance with the option of accidental damage cover, you don’t need to worry anymore, you can just ‘let life happen’."
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