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| Picture from The Guardian |
It went viral, with the YouTube version of the ad receiving 4 million viewings in the first day.
The centerpiece of the campaign is Monty the Penguin, and the story is about the pursuit of love. In the process John Lewis gives us the vision of happy family gatherings, peace and goodwill to all.
Continuing the John Lewis Christmas Ad tradition, the soundtrack to campaign is a cover version of an older pop song. In 2013, Lily Allen covered Keane's single "Somewhere Only We Know", 2012 saw Gabrielle Aplin covering Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Power of Love" and this year we hear Tom Odell singing John Lennon's 1979 song "Real Love" and the video and music go together as if they were made for each other.
By using a current pop singer, it enabled John Lewis to get additional publicity (for example this Daily Telegraph piece). Not only do they have Beatles + John Lennon fans listening/ watching but they also have Tom Odell's fans and popular radio stations. Just 3 days after its release, Real Love entered the UK music charts at 21 and looks set to rise up the ranks. Interestingly, Radio 1 refused to play the original JL version as it a song for an older generation than their target audience.
According to a psychologist working with the Daily Mirror, the music is there to "make you feel warm and fuzzy." This is created through the heavy use of 7th, bluesy chords throughout the piece, adding a dream-like notion. The meaning of which is visually is explained at the end of the advert as it is revealed *spoiler alert* that Monty is just a toy penguin after all. The chorus of the song uses much more simplistic chords and melodies, giving a more grounded, comfortable feel. It is also at this point in the visuals that we see happy couples in love and Monty looking at them longingly. The “mysterious” chord at the end of the chorus is played in sync with the visuals, depicting the young boy's realization of what is making Monty sad and how he can make him happy.
The Advert reaches its
climax at 1.37 as the chorus repeats with additional backing vocals and
instrumentation, it is at this point that Monty finds his “real
love” and it is revealed that it was all part of the young boys
imagination and Monty is just a toy.
What I found most interesting in the final repeat of “real love” that there is a slight pause
after the word “real” is sung, then as the John Lewis logo is
presented, the word “Love” is then sung, this is perhaps a way
for a consumer to subconsciously link the two things together... Love
John Lewis, Love John Lewis, Love John Lewis....
If you haven't yet seen the advert, fear not it will likely be on TV everyday from now till Christmas, or you can view it below...
Being a new recording allows the company the chance to re-launch the music separately: the campaign seamlessly directs audiences to iTunes where they can download the music for just 99 pence. This just gets better because John Lewis then promise to donate 89 pence of this to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). So along with the usual Christmas nostalgia and shopping, the music allows audiences to donate to charity - a win-win for John Lewis.
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