SNAPSHOT
The advert takes you on a magical Christmas journey, all through the eyes of the lead characters, a young boy called Nathan and the space traveller, Skye. Nathan discovers and befriends Skye, who has landed in the woods beside his home. Their friendship develops as Nathan introduces Skye to many of his family’s festive traditions and brings them to life for her in the woods.They decorate the tree with fairy lights, celebrate the tradition of eating and hosting together, as he encourages her to try her first mince pie, and he also introduces her to the joy of thoughtful gifting by giving her his Christmas jumper. Through these shared moments, we see the magic of Christmas through the eyes of someone who has never experienced it before. (synopsis (c) Under the Christmas Tree)
It’s the most commercially wonderful time of the year!
Yes, the John Lewis Christmas ad has landed for 2021, and while I know it’s a promotional tool for a department store and associated stores and retail holdings to make a squillion dollars off over-excited Christmas shoppers, there is still something spirit-liftingly lovely about watching these ads.
Granted, the ads haven’t been all that and a box full of sparkly tinsel over the last few years but they have always made me feel like its Christmas and that’s been gift enough, especially in years like this year and the last one that have felt distinctly and laboriously un-festive.
This year’s ad, soundtracked by a cover of “Electric Dreams” sung by Lola Young, has a pronounced E.T. feel about as one suburban kid introduces an alien visitor to the delights of Christmas in a way that will warm your heart like nothing else.
Sure as The Guardian‘s Stuart Heritage has rather humourously noted, “… this year’s ad is such a straight-down-the-line John Lewis Christmas advert that you can only imagine it was assembled by tombola.”
He goes on to say …
“Sweet children? Check. Bittersweet ending? Check. Maudlin cover version of a song you once liked? Check, in this case a version of Together in Electric Dreams that sounds like it was performed by someone who has tumbled down a well and just realised nobody is coming to rescue her. Such a total lack of John Lewis products that, if you showed the advert to someone who didn’t know what John Lewis was, they would be forced to assume it was some sort of spaceship repair company? Check. It is, plain and simple, a Christmas ad by numbers.” (The Guardian)
He’s funny and bang on, especially talk ingeniously to talk of a Christmas alien invasion – “No, the John Lewis Christmas advert this year is definitely about an alien crashing in the woods in December 2019 and lulling a boy into a false sense of security so she can extract his DNA, turn it into Covid then spread it around the world upon her return the following month. The moral of the story is that you should definitely kill all aliens with guns as soon as you see them. Merry Christmas everyone.” – but honestly, I don’t mind how cookie cutter it is.
It makes me feel happy and festive and like Christmas is here and everything will be all right, and after the last couple of years, I am happy to be enveloped by as much Christmas-by-the-numbers as John Lewis (and the ads that follow below) will give me.