We need look no further than this year’s John Lewis Christmas ad to see that one of the most urgent national conversations is the crisis of boyhood. Fears around the rise of the manosphere, spiralling mental health problems and loneliness among young men have made headlines, from Sir Gareth Southgate’s Richard Dimbleby lecture, in which he expressed fears that “toxic influencers” are replacing traditional father figures, to the phenomenal success of the hit Netflix series Adolescence. Now these anxieties have even crept into the UK’s reliable cultural barometer, the department store’s annual ad.
As this festive institution itself turns 18, it is fitting perhaps that it tells the story of a middle‑aged father and his silent, headphone-wearing teenage son. The gift of a vinyl record of Alison Limerick’s 1990 dance anthem Where Love Lives transports the dad back to his 90s clubbing days, until the pace changes and father and son see each other over the chasm of years. The boy, in true adland style, becomes a toddler and then a baby. We return to their immaculately stylish living room for a hug and a few tears in homes across the country – if Saatchi & Saatchi has done its job.
