Buster the boxer’s ad

The video above is the 2016 Christmas ad from UK retailer John Lewis. Their ads are always cute and appeal to emotion, and this one is no different: It’s nice.

These ads are always about more than they seem, and this one has that behind the scenes, too. This year, John Lewis is partnering with The Wildlife Trusts to help protect and restore Britain's wildlife, which is why the ad features so many examples. I recognised the song used immediately: It’s “One Day I'll Fly Away”, originally performed by Randy Crawford, who I’ve seen in concert several times. This particular version was recorded by UK group Vaults for this commercial.

John Lewis itself is part of the employee-owned retailing company John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which also includes the supermarket chain, Waitrose, whose 2016 Christmas ad is below. I have particular affinity for employee-owned and cooperative companies, so it’s nice to see JLP doing so well (ranked third private business by sales in the UK).

While John Lewis stores are only in the UK, the company is planning “concession stores” within Myer department stores in Australia, selling homewares and manchester (which is what we call bedding, linens, and towels in this part of the world).

I just think the John Lewis ad is fun, and, like always, nice. Sometimes, that’s enough.



Previous John Lewis ads I’ve shared:
Man on the Moon (my post: “Something nice") – 2015
Monty the Penguin (my post: “Another nice ad”) – 2014
The Bear and The Hare (my post: “Because it’s nice”) – 2013