John Lewis' Christmas advert for 2022 has been revealed - and it's another tearjerker. The retail giants have become pretty famous for their annual festive film and this year's edition has been kept very much under wraps.
But its finally here for viewers to enjoy in the run-up to the most wonderful time of the year - as they say. This year, John Lewis has used its Christmas ad to raise awareness of a very important subject.
The 90-second offering will represent children in care with the story of a middle-aged man learning to skateboard before welcoming a young teenager into the family home. The film, entitled The Beginner shows the 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, which shows a social worker arriving at his door with young teenager Ellie, who has arrived at her new foster home carrying her skateboard.
John Lewis has this year set its ad to a cover of Blink 182’s All the Small Things by US artist Mike Geier and it was created with agency adam&eveDDB, with input from partner charities Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland. However, John Lewis declined to reveal a budget.
Commenting on its ad, John Lewis said it understood that not all foster carers had the benefit of knowing who they would be looking after in advance and that its broader campaign also featured "authentic voices of carers" and "young people with different experiences of a complex care system".
But it said that "in a challenging year, we felt it was important to demonstrate that it’s what we do that matters most", adding it was proud to use its Christmas ad to "generate conversation and action around an often overlooked issue".
Viewers may notice that it is also almost entirely devoid of product placement except for two brief glimpses of the retailer’s Lewis Bear toy. However, customers can buy products 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.
A Giving Tree will also be in stores, inviting customers to donate to the charities by taking a tag with a value of between £5 and £50 and scanning it with their shop.
As well as that, 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.
Children in care and their caregivers will also be invited to Santa’s Grotto experiences in John Lewis stores and the retailer will also supply communal spaces of selected residential facilities run by Action for Children with electronics, furnishings and decorations.
John Lewis' director of customer Claire Pointon said: "We are fortunate to have a truly unique platform in our Christmas ad, which sparks a national conversation. At John Lewis we care deeply about families and recognise that they come in many different forms. For our biggest moment of the year, we decided to focus on one kind of family that is often overlooked.
"We are also very aware that not all care experience outcomes are as positive as Ellie’s. The home Ellie enters is filled with kindness and the foster father’s actions demonstrate that, ultimately, it’s what you do that matters most."
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