John Lewis has launched a new initiative that starts from £5 and shoppers will be able to get involved with in store. It comes as the retail giant released its highly-anticipated Christmas advert on Thursday (November 10).
Its 2022 offering aims to be another tear-jerker as they've used its annual film to raise awareness of children in care with the story of a middle-aged man learning to skateboard before welcoming a young teenager into the family home.
The 90-second ad, entitled The Beginner and set to a cover of Blink-182’s All The Small Things by US artist Mike Geier, and shows the man as he struggles painfully to master skateboarding in the build-up to Christmas.
READ MORE: John Lewis' Christmas 2022 advert revealed for first time
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. The ad was created with agency adam&eveDDB, with input from partner charities Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland.
And while John Lewis declined to reveal a budget it is almost entirely devoid of product placement except for two brief glimpses of the retailer’s Lewis Bear toy. 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.
But as well as that, John Lewis shoppers can find a Giving Tree in stores. It invites customers to donate to the charities by taking a tag with a value of between £5 and £50 and scanning it with their shop.
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”.
John Lewis customer director 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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