John Lewis’ Christmas Ad Tells Unexpected Family Story to Champion Children in Foster Care

The U.K.’s most anticipated ad of the year—retailer John Lewis’ Christmas campaign—is here, and this time it highlights a serious societal issue behind its typically emotive story.

The ad, titled “The Beginner” and created by the brand’s long-time agency adam&eveDDB, raises awareness of the many children who are in the foster care system, but through the lens of an unexpected family tale.

The narrative follows a middle-aged man’s comedic efforts to learn how to skateboard. The task consumes him, whether he’s sneakily watching how-to videos in the office or spending evenings at the skate park among teenagers. The scenes show him earnestly­—and often awkwardly—trying to master the skill, even to the point of injuring himself.

At the end, his true motivation for struggling with this activity becomes clear when a social worker arrives at his home with a girl named Ellie, whom he and his wife will be fostering. She is holding a skateboard, and the dad tells her: “I skate a bit too.” It turns out he had discovered the girl’s passion before she moved in and immersed himself in it so he could bond with her.

The soundtrack is a cover of Blink-182’s 1999 song “All the Small Things,” performed by American singer Mike Geier.

Supporting young people

The last shot of the ad tells viewers that there are more than 108,000 children and young people in the U.K.’s care system and highlights the brand’s long-term commitment to supporting them. The campaign aims to recognize those children during a family-focused holiday when they may feel more isolated, and it encourages the public to make a difference in their lives.

John Lewis Partnership, the company that operates John Lewis and supermarket Waitrose, launched a multiyear program in October called Building Happier Futures, which promises to provide employment opportunities within its organization to young people who have left the care system, and to also support them through training, charity partnerships and awareness building.

The company has partnered with Action for Children and Who Cares Scotland, two U.K. charities that work with care experienced children. As part of the Christmas campaign, it will sell a range of Lewis Bear merchandise, with 25% of sales benefitting the organizations, host Santa’s grottos in stores for families and kids from care and put up giving trees in John Lewis and Waitrose shops, from which customers can take tags worth different monetary amounts, scan them at the tills and make charity donations.

John Lewis is also calling on other businesses and the U.K. government to recognize this often-overlooked issue and support young people growing up in the care system. It is highlighting the barriers that they often face, such as the fact that a young person who leaves the care system is three times more likely to experience homelessness than go to university.

“We want to use our voice and… amplify a conversation not many people are having,” said Ceira Thom, head of learning at John Lewis & Partners.

The brand and adam&eveDDB collaborated with social workers, people who have gone through the care system and advisory groups to ensure the ad was authentic—though it acknowledged that this was only one depiction of the foster care experience. Claire Pointon, customer director at John Lewis, said this initiative is “not just for Christmas” and will show up at various points in the brand’s communications over the next year.

In terms of employing young people from foster care, the John Lewis Partnership has not set a specific target, but it has already hired more than 20 care experienced people in permanent positions across the company this year and plans to run another 25 pilots next year that will look to offer training and job opportunities.

Thom emphasized that more than a charity initiative, the young people from the Building Happier Futures program offer a unique set of skills, including resilience and creativity, to the business: “We are lucky for what they bring to our organization,” she said. “We are better off for having them in it.”

A creative pivot

The ad is a different creative direction for John Lewis, which is known for its more whimsical and magical stories at Christmastime. Last year, for example, the brand depicted an alien that crash-lands on Earth and experiences its first festive traditions. Previous campaigns have often employed animation techniques and high production values, with characters including an excitable dragon, a cuddly monster that lives under the bed, a pet boxer desperate to jump on his family’s trampoline, a boy’s stuffed penguin toy that comes to life and even Elton John.

While this year’s ad still tugs at the heart strings and has light-hearted moments, it is missing the fantastical elements in order to address a wider societal issue.

In the current flurry of Christmas campaigns—the holiday season is the British equivalent of the Super Bowl for advertisers—many brands including John Lewis have also tried to reflect the national mood amid the cost of living crisis. For example, health and beauty retailer Boots highlighted affordability and said it toned down the glitz and glamor in its holiday ad. 

In John Lewis’ case, cost of living concerns informed the ad’s tone, as well as its production values, which are “very different” from previous years, said Pointon. 

But a few elements of the Christmas campaign are still quintessentially John Lewis. The soundtrack, for example, is another slowed-down cover song, though this one already existed and was not specifically commissioned by the brand.

“The Beginner” is still an emotive family story, as is typical of the brand’s Christmas ads, but this a real-life version instead of fantasy.

“It’s a different kind of family story,” Pointon explained. “But what is at the heart is still joy.”

The Christmas ad also comes during a crucial sales period for the John Lewis Partnership. Like many other retailers, the business has been struggling, reporting a loss of $114 million (99 million pounds) in the first half of 2022 and warning that its staff may not receive their annual bonuses. It has closed numerous stores over the past couple of years.

“A successful Christmas is key for the business given the first half,” John Lewis group chair Sharon White said in September when the company released its financial results.

CREDITS:

Brand: John Lewis

Customer director: Claire Pointon

Head of brand and marketing: Rosie Hanley
Advertising lead: Emma Wood
Senior advertising manager: Holly Kicul

Agency: adam&eveDDB

Chief creative officer: Richard Brim

Creatives: Edward Usher, Xander Hart, Richard McGrann, Andy Clough
Creative directors: Matt Gay, Feargal Ballance
Agency producer: Sally Pritchett
Assistant producer: Charlotte Ellison
CSO: Martin Beverley
Planning partner: Hugh De Winton
Senior planner: Sian Iles
Project managers: Alice Southam, Ian Hughes
Social director: Phoebe Wright
Social manager: Osob Yusuf
CEO: Tammy Einav
Managing partner: Sarah Coleman
Business director: Betsy Bluer
Account director: Cicely Milsom
Account manager: Carrie Pollock
Business affairs: Jamie Hirst

Design: King Henry

Designer: Dave Robinson

Social production: Cain & Abel

Producer: Richard Bailey

Head of motion graphics: Ed Christie
Motion designer: Curtis Reeves

Media agency: Manning Gottlieb

Executive director: Geraldine Ridgeway
Business director: Melanie Dixon
Account director: Callum Newbury

Production company: Biscuit Filmworks UK 

Md and executive producer: Rupert Reynolds—Maclean 

Executive producer: Sam Chitty 
Producer: Lee Groombridge 
Production manager: Davina Abrahams 
Director of photography: Daniel Landin 
Production designer: Jon Henson 
Costume: Lucy Hagan 

Editing company: Work Editorial

Editors: Rich Orrick, Art Jones

Edit assistant: Miles Watson
Producer: Charlie Dalton

VFX: Nineteentwenty

VFX producer: David Keegan

VFX supervisor: Ludo Fealy
VFX shoot supervisor: Rod Norman
VFX artists: Jamie Stitson, Adam McHale, Alejandro Marzo, Yanru Yin, Tijan Holder, Emily Govinden, Matt Hutchins
Data operator and 2D artist: George Rankin
Digital matte painting: Benita Winckler

Color grading company: Time Based Arts

Colorist: Simone Grattarola

Executive color producer: Dan Kreeger
Production assistant: Angie Broomfield
Color assistants: Max Ferguson-Hook, Sharon Talbott

Music supervisor: Toby Williams @ Leland Music

Audio post-production: Factory Studios 

Sound design and mix: Anthony Moore, Jack Hallett 

Audio producer: Ciara Wakley