John Lewis Christmas Adverts – Which is your favourite?

John Lewis released it’s first Christmas TV advert in 2007.  For the first two years they used an agency called Lowe London and then later switched to an agency called Adam & Eve DDB.  There has been various reviews on their Christmas TV adverts and we all have different opinions on which we like the best, but the 2011 advert ‘The Long Wait’ was the campaign that flag shipped their advertising.  Since the 2011 The Long Wait TV advert, John Lewis has been under pressure to deliver heart felt and inspiring Christmas TV adverts each year.  Unfortunately, some of their adverts have been very hit or miss and we all long await that next big winner of the nations hearts.  If you would like to contact the John Lewis customer services, you can call 0844 318 7594 or visit our John Lewis help page to get you in touch.

Vote for your favourite advert

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2007 – Shadows

The first John Lewis Christmas advert is about a group of John Lewis staff placing items commonly bought at Christmas such as a lamp, a Mac, a bag etc in an arrangement on the floor.  The result of the pile of goods produces a shadow on the wall that looks like a woman walking her dog in a snowy Christmas scene.

Sound track: Prokofiev’s Morning Serenade from Romeo and Juliet.

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2008 – From Me to You

The theme in 2008 was based around the tagline ‘If you know the person, you’ll find the right present’.  It was aimed to help people know that John Lewis sold a wide range of gifts at Christmas and no matter what kind of person you need to buy a gift for, they would have something that they would like or need.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘From Me to You’ by The Beatles, performed by employees of John Lewis

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2009 – Sweet Child O’ Mine

After switching to the agency Adam & Eve DDB, John Lewis used the epic song from Guns n Roses to show children opening the kind of presents given to adults.  The aim was to invoke memories from how excited you was opening presents as a child and encouraging adults to remember that feeling when opening their gifts this year.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ by Guns n Rose, performed by Taken by Trees

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2010 – A Tribute to Givers

Focusing on the effort people make to ensure their loved ones have a great Christmas gift.  Even if it means buying something awkward or difficult to wrap.  It is based on the value of the lengths people go to at Christmas time when the tradition of exchanging gifts happens.  Even the dog is not left out!

Sound track: Cover version of ‘Your Song’ by Elton John, performed by Ellie Goulding

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2011 – The Long Wait

This years advert has a fantastic twist at the end that you just can’t help but get a lump in your throat.  When a little boy waits impatiently for Christmas day, you presume it is to open his presents, but the story results in a different outcome.  This was the first of John Lewis’s Christmas adverts that invoked that emotional reaction and set the standards for future years to come.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ by The Smiths, performed by Slow Moving Millie

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2012 – The Journey

The advert portrays a story of a snowman on a journey.  Overcoming obstacles and a harrowing journey, the snowman makes it to his final destination, all in the name of love.  The end reveals why he went all that way and what he went for when the little girl looks out of the window in the morning to show his result.

Sound track: The 20 year-old version of ‘The Power of Love’ by Gabrielle Aplin

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2013 – The Bear and the Hare

In a classic animated Disney style, this was the first fully animated Christmas advert from John Lewis.  It tells a story of a bear and a hare on the led-up to Christmas, but the hare was sad because the bear always missed Christmas when he went into his cave to hibernate for the winter.  This year the hare had a special gift to make sure that the bear didn’t miss Christmas.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ by Keane, performed by Lily Allen

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2014 – Monty the Penguin

In a tale of a boy and his imaginary friend penguin, John Lewis show all the fun the boy has with his penguin.  Yet there is a underlying sadness as the penguin wants a mate.  Penguins are monogamous and mate for life and as the penguin sees love all around him, it makes him sad and the little boy notices this.  On Christmas morning the boy has an extra special gift for his penguin friend, who turns out to be his old stuffed toy.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘Real Love’ by John Lennon, performed by Tom Odell

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2015 – Man on the Moon

A sad story of a little girl that spots a lonely man on the moon through a telescope.  She tries everything she can to let him know he is not alone, but he cannot see her because he is too far away.  Eventually she get a present to the moon for him and the end of the tale results in the lonely old man crying for joy.  A story to remind us to make sure the lonely people are not forgotten this Christmas and know someone out there cares. There tagline this year was ‘Show someone they’re loved this Christmas’.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘Half the World Away’ by Oasis, performed by Norwegian singer Aurora

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2016 – Buster the Boxer

A little girls Father has the task of building the trampoline in the garden on Christmas Eve, while she is in bed.  Much to the family dog’s surprise two foxes, a badger, a squirrel and even a hedgehog get onto the trampoline and start to play on it.  The dog is dying to also go and play on the trampoline, but he is locked in the house and can only watch through the window.  In the morning when the dog is opened to reveals the new trampoline for the little girls Christmas gift, the dog barges past and takes the limelight, much to the shock and bewilderment of the family.  The tagline is ‘Gifts that everyone will love’.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘One Day I’ll Fly Away’ by Randy Crawford, performed by Vaults

John Lewis TV Christmas advert 2017 – Moz the Monster

When a little boy is afraid of the dark, his imagination runs wild and he invents a monster that lives under his bed called Moz.  The monster is annoying and keeps the little boy awake with his loud snoring and breaking wind!  He eventually becomes friends with the monster and they spend lots of time during the night playing, but sadly this leaves the boy tired during the day and not able to function.  The monster realises that keeping him awake all night is not helping the boy and leaves him a Christmas present to help him sleep.

Sound track: Cover version of ‘Golden Slumbers’ by The Beatles, performed by Elbow

Soundtrack Chart Results

As with many Christmas songs, there is a fight for position in the official singles charts.   The results of the soundtrack position in the charts each year are shown below.

Release date	Title	Artists	Peak position
November 2009	“Sweet Child o’ Mine”	Taken by Trees	23
12 November 2010	“Your Song”	Ellie Goulding	2
11 November 2011	“Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want”	Slow Moving Millie	31
9 November 2012	“The Power of Love”	Gabrielle Aplin	1
10 November 2013	“Somewhere Only We Know”	Lily Allen	1
6 November 2014	“Real Love”	Tom Odell	7
6 November 2015	“Half the World Away”	Aurora	11
10 November 2016	“One Day I’ll Fly Away”	Vaults	53
10 November 2017	“Golden Slumbers”	Elbow	29