John Lewis Christmas Advert 2011
Intro:
John Lewis is a chain of upmarket department stores operating throughout Great Britain. The first John Lewis store was opened in 1864 in Oxford Street, London.
In recent years there is a tradition to see and talk about the new advert.
1. Read about the song used in the ad and the lyrics to the song and answer the questions below.
A big chunk of that £5 million must have gone to The Smiths, who allowed a cover of their song ‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’ to be used in the ad.
The John Lewis version, by Slow Moving Millie, is one of many in the fragile, breathy style currently in vogue among advertisers.
The Smiths – “Please, please, please, let me get what I want, this time”.
Good times for a change
See, the luck I’ve had
Can make a good man
Turn bad
So please please please
Let me, let me, let me
Let me get what I want
This time
Haven’t had a dream in a long time
See, the life I’ve had
Can make a good man bad
So for once in my life
Let me get what I want
Lord knows, it would be the first time
Lord knows, it would be the first time
Questions: (Understanding the lyrics of the song)
- What impression do you get from the lyrics?
- Is the writer happy or sad?
- What do you think the writer wants?
- What is a cover version?
- Why are fragile, acoustic, cover versions of famous songs in vogue among advertisers?
2. Listen to the song from the ad (without video) and answer the questions:
- How could you describe the voice of the singer?
- Is this appropriate for a Christmas ad?
- Do you have any ideas what the story in the ad will show?
3.Read the first part of the new report from the BBC.
BBC News:
THE ADVERT: John Lewis, The Long Wait
THE BRIEF: To press home the real meaning of Christmas
THE LAUNCH: John Lewis has been quick off the blocks with its blockbuster £6m Christmas ad. Arriving with much marketing fanfare and a telegenic seven-year-old, much of Middle England has been reduced to tears by a simple feel-good message.
4. Please watch the ad from John Lewis
5. Read the second part of the BBC news report.
THE BREAKDOWN:
If your heart hasn’t been melted by The Long Wait then it is made of stone, and Scrooge-like you deserve to be visited by every ghost.
The child in question is seven-year-old Lewis McGowan, who in the ad spends 10 days counting off the hours, minutes and seconds until Christmas. Not so he can have in a crazy present-opening festival, but so that he can experience the joy of giving his parents a special gift of his own.
See, it’s better to give than to receive – that’s the twist, and it took a child to point that out. This is John Lewis focusing on core family values, in these economic belt-tightening times. And it has captured the public mood.
The ad first launched on Twitter and YouTube, allowing time to generate a buzz before it landed in the nation’s front rooms during ITV’s The X Factor two weeks ago.
In fact, this is less of an ad, more of a mini-film continuing a theme John Lewis started a few years ago.
It arrived with much hype – almost every major newspaper has devoted column inches to the launch.
6. Questions:
- What the message in the ad?
- What is a breakdown?
- What is a buzz, what is hype ?
- Who is Scrooge?
- Do you remember “counting odd” the hours before Christmas Day arrived?
- What is a twist in a story and where is the twist in this ad?
- Are people spending more or less in 2011 and which phrase is used to describe it?
7. Discussion:
- Does this child exist?
- What do you think about the marketing strategy?
- What does “telegenic” mean?
- Where and what is “middle England”?
- Do you agree that it’s better to give than to receive ?
- Do you like ad’s that follow a theme?
- What do you think of the slogan?
