Have you met Monty yet? Our thoughts on the John Lewis Christmas Ad
07/11/2014
Author: Victoria Jones
November has started, which means that even if you hate to admit it, the Christmas season is unavoidably upon us. Nothing heralds this better than the launch of the new John Lewis advert – which has become more of a harbinger of glad tidings and festive spirit than the notorious ‘Holidays are Coming’ Coca Cola ad that inevitably gets trotted out every year.
I will put my cards on the table right now, and say that I love Christmas. However I don’t normally like the John Lewis Christmas advert that much as I find it all a bit contrived. The first few were OK, but then they seemed to develop a checklist of twee tropes that they now call on every year in order to tug the heartstrings. Cute animals, cute kids, unlikely friendships, ‘the perfect gift’, dreadful weepy cover of an already sentimental song.
I am sure you have already met ‘Monty’, this years adorable penguin star, but just in case you haven’t had the pleasure yet, you can watch the ad in full below.
As I started watching the ad I actually thought I was going to like it more than usual – a kid and his incredibly cute penguin friend having sweet adventures and outings. Then he starts getting all lonely and wishes for a companion, which he gets on Christmas morning. And then they reveal that he’s just been a stuffed toy all along. I though the ‘twist’ was a bit anticlimactic personally. I’m guessing they were going for the whole ‘magic of seeing the world through a childs eyes’ thing, but I thought that showing the stuffed toy at the end kind of ruined the enchantment (like when you find out how a magic trick is done). Although, it did make the fact he’d bought him a girlfriend slightly less creepy so there’s always that positive.
At least year they didn’t slay one of my favourite songs… The year they covered The Smiths I nearly cried and not for the reasons John Lewis wanted me to.
If you want to watch back over the last 6 years worth of tweeness and really get your festive spirit warmed check them out over at The Guardian.
