John Lewis' Christmas advert starts early with festive alien invasion

Are you ready for Christmas yet? You will be after seeing the new John Lewis advert.

The retailer is ringing in the festive season two weeks earlier than usual with a typically sentimental TV advert – a two-minute story about a young alien experiencing her first Christmas on Earth, complete with obligatory mince pies and a novelty Christmas jumper. Not to mention a chilling 80s classic as the soundtrack.

The story, titled “Unexpected Guest,” is about astronaut Skye's crash-landing in the woods near the home of 14-year-old Nathan, who introduces her to important traditions: devouring mince pies, decorating the Christmas tree and – to Skye's slight confusion – wearing Christmas jumpers.

In case you're wondering about the music, the soundtrack is a cover of the 80s hit Together In Electric Dreams by 20-year-old London singer and songwriter Lola Young. The song by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder reached number three in the singles charts when it was released in 1984 – and stayed in the charts for 13 weeks.

John Lewis is clearly trying to capitalise on the public's enthusiasm for a traditional Christmas after last year's celebrations were 'cancelled' and lockdowns were last-minute.

This advert is being released two weeks earlier than usual – according to the retailer, Christmas-related searches on John Lewis' website have increased by 50% compared to the same period last year. All of the products featured are John Lewis products and customers are encouraged to shop “key scenes”, including the decorated Christmas tree and dining table.

You can even buy a version of the novelty jumper Nathan gives Skye (without the twinkling lights shown in the advert) for between £14 and £29, depending on size – with 10% of profits going to the charities FareShare and Home-Start UK.

If you want to watch the advert air live, it will premiere on ITV at 8.15pm on Thursday during the Pride of Britain Awards, but it will be released on the retailer's website and social media channels at 8am.

The clip was created by the agency adam&eve DDB. A spokesperson for John Lewis declined to disclose the budget, but said it was in line with spending in previous years.

In 2020, against the backdrop of Covid-19, John Lewis deviated from the style of its previous ads and featured acts of kindness in nine different vignettes – but the C-word was not mentioned once.

This year's advert could be seen as a return to form, especially given the recent controversy surrounding a campaign for the brand's home insurance offering.

It is hoped to avoid the negative reaction that followed the advert, which featured a boy deliberately destroying his house. The advert was withdrawn after the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ruled that the advert could confuse customers about the extent of the insurance cover offered.

The retailer could certainly do with a successful Christmas season. The John Lewis Partnership, which runs the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, posted a pre-tax loss of £29 million in the six months to 31 July, but this was an improvement on the £635 million loss it posted in the same period in 2020.

“There is nothing more magical than discovering the joy of Christmas for the first time and enjoying the best of festive season with your loved ones,” Claire Pointon, customer director at John Lewis, told PA News. “After the last 18 months, we really wanted to celebrate this with our advertising as we look forward to a brighter future.”

The real test will probably be whether the ad can convince well-known John Lewis skeptic Carrie Johnson to do her Christmas shopping there.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.

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