British music icon Elton John retraces his “incredible journey” in John Lewis’ emotionally-charged and nostalgic Christmas spot.
It is a welcome return to form for the British retailer, which turned out a surprisingly dull affair with last year’s Moz the Monster.
This year’s John Lewis spot uses another famous ‘John’ to delicately bring to life the power of a life-changing gift – in this case a piano that he receives as a young child.
The film, which launched in the UK today, starts out with a somewhat pensive, present day Elton John tapping a few notes on his piano. These notes form his first major hit Your Song, the music track that the film is set to.
The clip then chronologically goes back through special moments in the John's life, such as that time he performed an epic stadium concert in the 1970s West of the Rockies Tour in North America. There are snippets of John’s life on tour and in a dressing room.
Other moments include a pub gig as a teen, a school recital, all building up to when young Elton gets his first piano – a moment that is based on John’s recollection of when he first played a piano at his grandmother’s house.
Each stage of Elton’s life is played by a different actor and the 2 minute 20 second film certainly tugs the heart strings, whether you are a fan of Elton John or not.
The film was created by ad agency Adam&EveDDB with Rocket Entertainment, and directed by Seb Edwards from Academy Films.
Manning Gottlieb OMD handle’s John Lewis’ media planning and buying, which has a heavy TV component as well as the retailer’s social media channels and cinema.
UK press reports the campaign cost about £7 million ($12.6 million) and most of this was spent on buying media.
Rumours about John’s role in the spot hit fever pitch in the UK media when John Lewis recently dropped the ‘Lewis’ signage from its flagship store.
"The John Lewis Christmas campaign has so many warm memories for me and my family,” the music star said.
“It's 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 Grandmother's piano marks the moment when music came into my life. The ad is absolutely fantastic and I've truly loved every minute of being a part of it.”
John Lewis partner and customer director Craig Inglis said the ad aims to illustrate “the magical feeling we wanted to bring to life this year”.
“The ad tells the story of why Elton’s piano was more than just a gift and we hope to remind customers of that special moment when they’ve given a gift at Christmas time that they know will be treasured forever,” Inglis said.
Christmas ads have become the UK’s version of the Super Bowl with John Lewis frequently setting the benchmark.
Some of its memorable campaigns in recent years include The Bear & The Hare, Monty the Penguin, Man on the Moon and Buster The Boxer.
Almost all of the ads have proved exceptionally effective, delivering huge spikes in sales. For example, the 2012 ad The Journey helped the retailer lift year-on-year sales by 44.3%.
John’s popularity as a British national treasure combined with the brilliant, emotive creative should help A Boy in a Piano deliver impressive results at a time when the UK retailer and other high street department stores are struggling.
This year’s John Lewis ad is sure to deliver the retailer a touchdown.
Previous John Lewis ads:
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