John Lewis celebrates caring with ‘Give A Little Love’ Christmas ad campaign

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 13, 2020

Be prepared for a caring, sharing Christmas. That’s certainly the focus of this year's emotionally-charged John Lewis Partnership festive television ad campaign, unveiled today. It’s inspired by the kindness shown by the British public during the pandemic and encourages viewers to ‘give a little love’ to others.

The advert is one element of the major campaign by the John Lewis and its sister supermarket brand Waitrose. The campaign aims to make a lasting difference to some of those hit hardest during 2020, the group stressed. Raising around £4 million for two charities will also be at the heart of the campaign.

The story of two-minute ad ‘Give A Little Love’ (created by advertising agency Adam&eveDDB) is designed to inspire the nation to give a little love to those around them, while a complementary 30 second ad carries a direct call to support two charities, FareShare, which helps those facing food poverty, and Home-Start, which works with parents who need support.

Meanwhile, the Partnership said the ad is also a celebration of different forms of moving art - from animation and claymation to CGI and cinematography. It’s made up of nine different vignettes created by eight different artists who are leading experts in their particular art, including Chris Hopewell, who has created music videos for Radiohead and Franz Ferdinand, and French animator Sylvain Chomet.

The scenes are connected to create a long chain of giving, as each film passes the campaign’s heart emblem on to the next part of the film. The storyline illustrates how acts of kindness, large and small, can multiply and positively impact the world in which we live as we pass them on to others. The different ‘moments’ of kindness captured in the film are designed to appeal to different audiences, from children upwards.

The 30-second complementary advert was created by four post-graduate students from Kingston University who were chosen "for their distinctive styles, which are joyful, yet humble". Both adverts were directed by British director Oscar Hudson.

In another step away from its traditional approach, for the first time a new song was commissioned for the Christmas campaign. Written and recorded by British soul singer, Celeste, the song is also called ‘A Little Love’.

Pippa Wicks, executive director of John Lewis, said: “We recently set out our ambition for our business to be a force for good -- so we decided that this year was the year to break the mould and do something different.

“We have a long tradition of helping support the communities which we serve, so as we launch one of the best loved assets, our Christmas ad, it’s fitting to take this one step further by working hand in hand with two incredible charities supporting families in need.

She added: “We were humbled by the kindness shown by the British public during the pandemic. We want this campaign to be uplifting and to inspire everyone to give some kindness in their own way this Christmas, especially to those who need it most. The pandemic has proved that it’s our small acts of love and kindness, particularly in challenging times, that captures what it is to be human; and when one small act of kindness multiplies it can have a lasting impact”.