It’s that time of year again… Christmas Advert time. Around the start of November we see the rollout of the biggest Christmas Adverts of the year, including John Lewis, ASDA, M&S and Coca-Cola.
You may be thinking, it’s a bit soon as it’s only just been Halloween & Bonfire Night, but now it is time to get in the festive spirit. The 2022 John Lewis advert is far-removed from their previous creatives of rabbits, bears and aliens, centering on a middle-aged man and his plight to learn how to skateboard.
His determination sees him succeed, just in time to welcome his skateboard-loving, newly-adopted/fostered daughter arrive home for the first time. The call to action this year is to support children in the care system, made even more heartfelt by the fact that the actual John Lewis of Twitter fame announced he has four adopted children.
In the spirit of things, The Hatchlings took to a vote to find out which Christmas adverts have remained our favourites over previous years.
The winner is… John Lewis – Monty the Penguin (2014)
The 2014 John Lewis advert featuring Monty the Penguin has remained a firm favourite over the years. It is no surprise this advert evokes feelings of warmth and the magic of Christmas, with the tale told through the eyes of a child and to the soundtrack of Tom Odell’s version of John Lennon, Real Love.
The team voted this as the their favourite advert because:
- It is subtly related to the John Lewis brand and stores but is still Christmas themed throughout and provides a warm feeling.
- It is both wholesome and funny at the same time.
- It is emotive as it uses a double story line to show both Monty the Penguin and Sam, the little boy getting what they want for Christmas
- It still has a strong link to present-buying and the John Lewis advert is always a must watch!
- Monty the penguin is one of the most memorable Christmas adverts and showcases the magic of Christmas
The advert certainly performed well for John Lewis, providing them with a record-breaking week of sales in 2014 – taking £175M for the first time!
Some of the other favourites are:
- Coca-Cola (1995) – The Holidays are Coming
- Argos Aliens Christmas Advert (2012)
- John Lewis – The Journey (2012)
- Sainsburys – 1914 (2014)
- Aldi – Kevin (2017)
- John Lewis – The Long Wait (2011)
- Disney – From Our Family to Yours (2020)
- John Lewis – Meet Buster (2016)
- John Lewis – Man on the Moon (2015)
It is safe to say, the John Lewis advert usually goes down a treat! Overall, we all can agree that a good advert evokes feelings of magic, warmth and Christmas spirit – and a cute animal doesn’t go a miss!
