The countdown to Christmas has started early at John Lewis, which is launching the first ad in a three-part series that delves into its own archive to back the return of the 100-year old brand promise, Never Knowingly Undersold, in a campaign that will culminate in the retailer’s festive spot.
The slogan had been in use since 1925 but back in September 2022 the retailer replaced it with “For All Life’s Moments” in an effort to modernise the company’s appeal. However, new chief executive Peter Ruis said the move had led shoppers to lose faith they were getting the best value.
John Lewis now insists it will price match 25 key competitors both on the high street and online.
In the new film and print ads by Saatchi & Saatchi, a John Lewis store window provides a lens on the past and the future drawing on the best of old and new. It features a single window that changes over a century as it is dressed and redressed – every different display representing a different era with products of the time.
There is a glimpse the fashions of the roaring 1920s and the year – 1925 – when a toaster was so innovative that it took centre stage in a John Lewis window. Scenes are also shown during the outbreak of World War II, when the Oxford Street store provided a temporary war bunker and was hit during the blitz 84 years ago this week.
The window also recreates the swinging 60s and the 80s lycra fitness craze, before landing in the present day with high-tech LED anti-ageing face masks. At the end, the Never Knowingly Undersold pledge is reinstated on the window.
John Lewis claims sales have increased significantly since the peldge was relaunched on September 9 and organic website visits to johnlewis.com have increased by more than 50,000 a day.
Through the decades the ad explores the themes of “knowing and wisdom”, with Bafta winning actress Samantha Morton, who provides a monologue. Live Knowingly, the new John Lewis brand platform, is designed to reflect on how important values are learned over a lifetime and John Lewis is there at every step of the way.
The soundtrack featuring Laura Mvula is a contemporary version of Paul Simon’s I Know What I Know. The campaign – directed by King She – launches with a 90-second film created by Saatchi & Saatchi that is designed to celebrate John Lewis’ “reassuring presence” on UK high streets, which airs during tonight’s Channel 4’s Taskmaster (September 19).
The scenes have been drawn on John Lewis Partnership’s own archives, based in Odney, Berkshire; even the outfits in the ad were created with meticulous attention to detail by designer Ed Marler.
John Lewis customer director Charlotte Lock said: “We’ve looked to our heritage to inform our refreshed value promise to customers, making it relevant for today by matching not only high street retailers but also online competitors – and we are backing it with the biggest marketing campaign in our history. We have drawn on our archives and are literally depicting a window on Britain, showing the changing trends and events over the past century.
“Our launch ad travels back to 1925 when we first introduced Never Knowingly Undersold, through the perspective of our Oxford Street shop window. The enduring value and values John Lewis represents are as important today as they were a century ago.”
Saatchi & Saatchi chief creative officer Franki Goodwin added: “Bringing back the Never Knowingly Undersold promise and launching the Live Knowingly platform has allowed us to delve into the rich archives of John Lewis, uncovering the deep connection this brand has shared with the nation for over a century. This isn’t just a shop – it’s been everything from a date night destination to a bomb shelter.”
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