Background & Context

John Lewis has been one of Britain’s most loved and cherished high-street retailers for over 150 years. However in 2009, at a time of low growth, low wages, low consumer confidence and economic austerity, the future for John Lewis was uncertain. After years of solid growth, like-for-like sales were -3.4% and operating profit had dropped by 26%. In 2009, we were appointed to create a Christmas campaign that would boost John Lewis' ailing sales.

Creative Challenge

It's often forgotten, but in 2009 the brand had a low profile in the UK and was respected, but not loved. For many it seemed expensive, aloof and out of touch with the times. The creative challenge was set out clearly in the Christmas strategy to position John Lewis as the ‘The Home of Thoughtful Gifting’.

Solution

The creative challenge was to bring ‘The Home of Thoughtful Gifting’ to life in an emotional way. It is important to remember, a decade ago, emotional storytelling in retail was rare. Retailers used rational messages in their advertising to persuade shoppers to purchase from them. John Lewis took a profoundly different approach. Instead of telling people what to think, we set out to create emotional stories that made people feel.

Execution

Over the first three years of the campaign, we learnt that individual stories were more powerful than vignettes. That viewers loved a plot twist. That the heart warming moments delighted viewers and made them talk about the ads. In our 2011 spot, 'The Long Wait', the gift is never revealed. We realised the ads shouldn't be about selling specific products, they should be about the feeling of giving.

Over time, we've developed 'brand handwriting' - consistent elements that make the campaigns feel unmistakably 'John Lewis'. Small children. Lovable characters . A 'rug-pull' twist. An emotional soundtrack. Little details matter: casting, lighting, colour grading, performance, so we over-invest in production (over the 90:10 rule of thumb) to ensure everything looks and feels like a John Lewis ad. We also use the same directors again and again. Over time, the stylistic 'handwriting' has become branding in itself. Branded recognition improves every year and despite our many copycats, 80% recognise and correctly attribute a John Lewis ad.