The first Friday of November may be the traditional time when the festive advertising bunfight erupts – a tradition that, if some are to be believed, UK consumers are chomping at the bit for – yet for once it seems John Lewis has beaten everyone to the first punch.
The second execution in its Christmas trilogy, it is claimed that ‘Give Knowingly’ celebrates the wisdom and wise choices of its customers, as they search for the perfect gift for their loved ones and is designed to reinforce John Lewis as the home of gifting by showcasing the breadth its offer.
Chapter one announced the return of Never Knowingly Undersold in September and chapter three will launch its actual Christmas ad later this month.
The fully integrated campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, is based on the top 100 gifts for the season; eight films that will run across TV, BVOD, digital, social, a large-scale out of home and print campaign, and social media and radio.
Landing ahead of the Black Friday trading period, the activity is designed to tap into the fact that November has become a key gifting period – with nearly two-thirds of all purchases made over the period bought as Christmas gifts.
It will showcase a breadth of gifts, ranging from affordable cashmere to the latest gadgets from brands such as Nespresso, Apple, Ninja, Samsung and skincare from Charlotte Tilbury, who provides the voiceover for her own ad herself. The strapline transitions from ‘Live Knowingly’ in chapter one to ‘Give Knowingly’ in chapter two.
Once again John Lewis is collaborating with BAFTA-winning Samantha Morton as the voice of the campaign and is also celebrating a new partnership with the winner of Channel 4’s The Piano, Brad Kella, who accompanies the campaign with a piano rendition of the Bob Dylan song Make You Feel My Love.
Products designed by Izaac, a care-experienced designer from the MxC range, also appear in the campaign, with proceeds from the sale of products going to charities which support those who have grown up in care.
John Lewis customer director Charlotte Lock said: “At John Lewis we recognise the changing dynamic in Christmas shopping. As Black Friday builds and our customers focus on finding the right gift for their loved ones, this campaign offers them inspiration. It also reminds them that they can always buy the right gift at the right price at John Lewis, not just over the Black Friday period. After all, John Lewis knows more about giving great gifts than any other retailer – we’ve been doing it for 160 years.
“We’re delighted that this includes our MxC range. John Lewis has a long-standing commitment to the care-experienced community through its employability programme and fundraising, and we are thrilled to be featuring incredible care-experienced talent in this campaign and showcasing gifts made by care-experienced designers.”
Saatchi & Saatchi chief creative officer Franki Goodwin added: “Though we’re a few weeks out, the journey to finding the perfect Christmas present really starts now. It was essential we captured this insight in this second chapter and brought our amazing supplier brands into the story.
“There is so much beauty in the wisdom of knowing our loved ones at this time of year and knowing how much the right gift can feature in their lives for years to come. We’re excited to see this chapter in the real world, driving to real products and putting John Lewis at the heart of thoughtful gifting.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, like the rest of the nation, we do love it when the Christmas TV ads burst on to our screens, even though many of them are pure turkeys. As everyone knows, John Lewis is normally the most anticipated, and although it is not always the best, it is always there or there abouts.
This year, they are trying something a bit different, with Christmas coming not once, not twice, but three times.
Chapter one, as they are calling it, started well, chapter two is up next, and, although we haven’t seen all the executions, it appears to be very “on-brand”. Whether chapter three will be the cherry on top, of course, remains to be seen but it is certainly mixing in all the ingredients well.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘ two down, one to go’ 8 out of 10