Emotion

In 2009 John Lewis predicted that most retailers would emphasize fun shopping in their stores as a way to attract customers. They repositioned themselves as "the home of thoughtful giving, celebrating those who put more care into what they chose and how they present it".

 

Following a number of years of very powerful, emotionally charged Christmas spots, the British public now anticipates that John Lewis will release these spots each and every year.

 

My personal favorite is the ‘The Bear & The Hare’ from Christmas of 2013. In this spot, John Lewis used hand-drawn animation to tell the story, looking very much like a classic Disney film from the 1940s, such as Bambi, which has been watched by generations of children. The technique taps in to feelings of nostalgia, while it also tells a heart-warming story which is based on past experience. The audio is of Lily Allen performing a superb version of Keane’s 2004 hit ‘Somewhere Only We Know’.

 

The success of these adverts also relied heavily upon social sharing and conversation. The retailer specifically designed additional features to further encourage 'active engagement'.

 

It’s no mystery why other brands have been so eager to follow John Lewis’ path. The animated spot was shared 200,000 times in the first 24 hours, making it on the day of its release in 2013 the most shared viral video (never mind online advert) in the world - for a day, at least. By the end of the year, ‘The Bear & The Hare’ had received 1.16 million all-time shares, making it not only the most shared John Lewis Christmas ad of all time in the UK, but also the third most shared global Christmas advert of 2013.