John Lewis has launched its 2024 Christmas TV ad and reactions have ranged from thumbs-up, to surprised to a little disappointed, although the theme was hardly a shock given the pre-Christmas ads the retailers has launched in recent months.

The surprise/disappointment has come because the retailer that was responsible for kicking off the blockbuster/mini movie Christmas ad trend some years ago has this time gone for one that essentially focuses on its products and retail offer.

Not that it’s without its fair share of poignancy and fantasy.

It’s called The Gifting Hour and “transports viewers on a magical journey” that follows a woman’s quest to find the ideal Christmas gift for her sister. And for the first time, a John Lewis store takes a starring role.

The two-minute TV ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi is the third in the trilogy this season. It “celebrates the search for the perfect gift through the wisdom of its customers and the breadth of offering in its stores – ending with the strapline: ‘The secret to finding the perfect gift? Knowing where to look. 

In the ad, the heroine, Sally, has left it late to find a present for her sister and races into a John Lewis store at closing time. 

“Falling through a rack of dresses, she enters a fantastical world. We first see her stumbling out of the wardrobe in the attic of her childhood home and from here we are taken on a whimsical journey through her memories as she searches for the ultimate present, against the clock”. 

John Lewis is known for its Christmas ads featuring cover versions of popular songs. But this year, singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft provides the soundtrack with his own ballad, Sonnet. And the retailer is offering aspiring musicians “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the next John Lewis cover star. Partnering with BMG and Ashcroft himself, they will launch a nationwide talent search on November 15 on TikTok via a branded effect on the John Lewis page, using the hashtag #MySonnet”.

The winner will record their own version of Sonnet, to be featured in a Christmas Day airing of the ad on TV, with the track officially released by BMG. The winner will also get a professional recording session with a top producer, a £3,000 John Lewis shopping spree, and tickets to a Richard Ashcroft headline show in 2025.

It’s the third chapter of John Lewis’s Golden Quarter campaign having announced the return of Never Knowingly Undersold in September and launching the Christmas Gifting Showcase earlier this month. 

The campaign is supported by out-of-home advertising, digital print and social media that showcases some of the most popular gifting products.