John Lewis Christmas ad: How the cost of living crisis changed the battle for best festive advert
It might barely be November, but the battle for the best Christmas advert is already in full flow, with John Lewis launching its festive offering today.
And while they might be a staple of our Christmas diet now – as much a tradition as pigs in blankets or carol singers – the hype around festive adverts wasn’t always such a big part of the calendar.
Today’s clip from John Lewis comes a week after Asda revealed their Christmas ad, which used classic footage from the 2003 film Elf, and hot on the heels of festive clips from Tesco, Argos, Morrisons and Aldi.
But with food bills rising, surging energy bills, mortgage hikes and reports of Britons cutting back ahead of the festive season, retailers have a difficult sales pitch to make this year.
A topic that is ‘so much bigger than Christmas’
John Lewis used their 90 seconds to shine a spotlight on an “often overlooked issue” – children in care.
The Beginner – set to a cover of Blink 182’s All the Small Things by US artist Mike Geier – shows a man as he struggles painfully to master skateboarding in the build-up to Christmas.
Viewers are left questioning the motive behind his perseverance until the final scene, when a social worker arrives with young teenager Ellie, who has arrived at her new foster home carrying her skateboard.
Kate Hardcastle, a consumer expert and chief executive of Insight with Passion, told Sky News: “Getting the tone of voice was really important for this year, and it was probably quite guessable it was going to be around corporate social responsibility because how can you do anything other else right now?
“But this is an incredibly fragile topic and needs handling with care.”
The ad was created with input from partner charities Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland.
Alongside its longer-term work providing apprenticeship opportunities within the John Lewis Partnership for people leaving care, the retailer said it would make donations of Christmas decorations, food and gifts.
Ms Hardcastle said: “I would never say it missed the mark because the topic matters so much to me and I think any awareness is important.
“But I think the topic is much bigger than a Christmas advert and that’s because our care system support is needed 365 days a year, not just for Christmas.”
The ad is almost entirely devoid of product placement except for two brief glimpses of the retailer’s Lewis Bear toy.
But consumers can still purchase a number of products linked to the story including the £30 bear, £19 Lewis Bear pyjamas, a £5 Lewis Bear tote bag and a Rampage Skateboard for £34.99, with 25% of the sales going to the two affiliated charities.
The retail giant declined to reveal its budget for the ad.
How John Lewis changed the Christmas game
In the early 2000s, adverts were filled with as “many products as you could find” because “every frame costs money, so you want to show as much product as possible”, said Ms Hardcastle
This was seen with Marks and Spencer, who ruled the roost for years with their product-heavy offerings.
But in 2011, John Lewis changed the game with The Long Wait, a story of a young boy waiting desperately to give his mum a Christmas present.
Dr Hanlon told Sky News: “John Lewis did it differently. They told a story, rather than saying ‘here are the products, please buy these’.
“It is a classic marketing technique, it is telling a story, and it takes us back to that childhood notion of storytelling and it’s a comfortable place to be.”
And from there the battle for best Christmas advert, as it is know it today, began.
How to sell during a cost of living crisis
But as Christmas approaches this year, almost half (48%) of Brits have said they are planning to cut down on purchases – including festive activities and gifts – to save money, according to a report from Barclaycard.
Of these consumers, six in 10 will be spending less on gifts for family and friends, 44% will cut back on festive food and drink, including turkey and mulled wine, and two-fifths will curb their spending on Christmas parties and socialising.
Ms Hardcastle said John Lewis made the right choice picking a lower-priced toy as their feature product – the £35 skateboard.
She said: “This understands where people are right now. If they had put a £200 product on there, there would have been an immediate backlash of ‘how are people meant to afford this?'”
Brands ‘played it safe’
Matt Bourn, from the Advertising Association, said: “It is clear that advertisers and their agency and media partners are sensitive to the mood of the nation, the importance of being together, gifting and helping people to celebrate despite the geopolitical issues impacting us all.”
But Dr Hanlon said most of this year’s adverts “fell flat”, which indicates brands “don’t want to demonstrate they are spending millions on an ad when people are wearing extra jumpers and not putting the heating on”.
“I don’t think this year was meant to be a year for an iconic advert,” added Ms Hardcastle.
But she said she understands why brands have played it safe: “To have got it wrong this year, you would have been as villainous as the queue-jumping scandal.
“I think everyone just wants to say, let this Christmas be kind, let this Christmas be safe.
“And that’s how we feel about Christmas this year ourselves. No one’s telling you, they’re going to do some massive flash thing.
“Everyone’s saying we just going to keep it simple. We’re just going to go back to basics, getting the family together, with fewer presents, maybe a bit less food, and the currency of the adverts fits in with that.”
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
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