In the last 10 years, John Lewis have given us some of the most iconic Christmas adverts. From dogs jumping on trampolines, to the man on the moon, and even an appearance from Sir Elton John. John Lewis has really done it all.
Here is a run down of the last 10 years of John Lewis Christmas adverts:
2011: The Long Wait
The Long Wait in 2011 featured a young boy counting down the days til Christmas. Featuring all the traditional festivities along the way, from snowy days to Nativity performances, the ad played alongside the song Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. The little boy’s motivation is revealed as wanting to give rather than receive with the tagline of, “For gifts you can’t wait to give.”
2012: The Journey
Gabrielle Aplin’s cover of The Power of Love for the 2012 John Lewis advert is one I remember heavily featuring on the radio. The advert featured a snowman crossing motorways and mountains in order to gift his fellow snowwoman a red hat, scarf, and gloves, with the tagline, “Give a little more love this Christmas.”
2013: The Bear and The Hare
2013 was the first year John Lewis used animated characters to bring the story of The Bear and The Hare to life. As the bear continues to hibernate through the winter period, the hare gifts him an alarm clock so he will wake up just in time to experience Christmas. The emotional advert uses the tagline, “Give someone a Christmas they’ll never forget.”
2014: Monty The Penguin
An unlikely duo, a little boy and his penguin friend go on a series of adventures on the lead up to Christmas. From playing Lego, to jumping on trampolines, playing in the park, and even watching television, this little boy realises his penguin needs a friend. Even though the penguin turns out to be a toy, the tagline emphasises “Give someone the Christmas they’ve been dreaming of.”
2015: The Man On The Moon
One of the most loved John Lewis adverts of the decade. The Man On The Moon tells the story of a little girl who gifts an elderly man living on the moon a telescope so they can communicate with each other. In partnership with Age UK, the ad promotes awareness of the millions of people who go long periods of time without speaking to someone. Using the tagline, “Show someone they’re loved this Christmas”, this ad features an Oasis cover.
2016: Buster The Boxer
After setting such a high standard for themselves the previous year, John Lewis brought back their typical style of a mixture of real-life actors and animated characters. Buster The Boxer showed an excitable dog jumping on a brand new trampoline as the family watches on, with the tagline, “Gifts that everyone will love.”
2017: Moz The Monster
The ad saw Moz the Monster, who would come out at night to play with a little boy who subsequently spent all day tired after playing board games and giving each other piggy backs. After Moz teaches the little boy not to be scared of the dark, the boy is given a night light which gives way for the tagline, “ For gifts that brighten their world.”
2018: The Boy and The Piano
The Boy and The Piano opens with Sir Elton John and continues to show the story of his life from being given a piano at Christmas. John Lewis brought back ‘Your Song’, which this time was sung by Elton John himself rather than the 2010 cover by Ellie Goulding. From a little boy in striped pajamas to Elton John, the tagline for 2018 was, “Some gifts are more than just a gift.”
2019: Excitable Edgar
The first of many John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners adverts, Excitable Edgar told the tale of a dragon wanting to fit in with the rest of the village. After prematurely ruining Christmas and not quite understanding how to control his fire powers, a little girl gives him the perfect Christmas gift. “Show them how much you care” is the perfect tagline to go along with Bastille’s cover of Can’t Fight This Feeling.
2020: Give A Little Love
2020, the year we all needed a little bit of kindness. Throughout the advert we are shown random acts of kindness from an NHS worker fixing a little girl’s glasses, to a group of pigeon’s helping a hedgehog fit in. The advert mirrors our own acts of kindness this year, using the tagline, “Together we can make a big difference”.
Which one was your favourite?
Written by Neve Gordon-Farleigh
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash. Image License can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Neve Gordon-Farleigh
Neve is a 21 year old freelance journalist, and our Head Current Affairs and Instagram Editor for Empoword Journalism. She specialises in social media journalism and runs the Journo Resources Tik Tok page. You can find her on Twitter @Neve_GF.