DANIEL JONES
John Lewis Christmas advert 2018: I love the ad, it reminds me of my mum 10 years after she died
The Sun's Consumer Editor reflects on 2018's John Lewis advert made him feel all nostalgic
ELTON John appears nostalgic in the John Lewis Christmas ad - and the whole thing made me nostalgic too.
He reminisces about how his route to mega-stardom began after getting a piano for Christmas in the early 1950s as a four-year-old.
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The ad zooms back in time through key moments in each decade of his life - such as big stadium tours in the 70s to a school recital in the 60s - ending up with the first note he played on his grandma’s Yamaha piano in Pinner.
It had me doing the same - though my memories started in the early 1980s with my mum listening to Elton John on repeat.
When I was four that would have been his 15th album The Fox - admittedly, not his best work.
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But 1983’s Too Low for Zero - with I’m Still Standing - and my mum and I dancing around to it, I remember really well.
The vinyl - yes there was no Spotify, nor even CDs back then - was nearly worn out.
As the ad cuts to one of his stadium tours it reminded me of my older sister - who will want me to point is old enough to remember his first album Empty Sky from 1969, when she was five - taking my mum to his Wembley concert in June 1984.
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I flicked through the programme for weeks and listened to their stories.
My mother died a decade ago but I know she’d have loved the ad. I love it too because it reminds me of her.
Not everyone will have the same reaction as me - though many of us who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s likely had parents hooked on Elton too.
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But most Brits will have some feeling when they listen to Elton because even if they don’t remember him being a superstar his songs keep cropping up.
Perhaps because of his role in Princes Diana’s funeral - or from his songs being covered or appearing in movies and adverts.
John Lewis have taken a totally different route to normal in using a big star, rather than unknowns.
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It’s the biggest change in direction to the store’s famous ads since they first became a festive feature with 2010’s Tribute to Givers.
It was about the huge lengths people go to hide gifts from loved ones and it also had Your Song sung by Ellie Goulding as the soundtrack.
And I like the change. Since then, all the ads have been great - but using adorable animated animals or creatures or real life cute young kids was becoming predictable.
So they decided to go big in terms of the star instead.
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The one thing that is the same is the simple underlying message.
As always, John Lewis is not trying to be overly clever.
Clearly, they want us to rush in-store or log online and buy lots of stuff so they can stay in business but they try to remind us to be thoughtful about.
The tagline at the end is: “Some gifts are more than just a gift.”
MORE ON JOHN LEWIS ADVERT
It’s saying: That gift you buy this year might change someone’s life. They might become a rock star.
Or if you use your imagination and get them, say, a science kit they might become the next Einstein. Or for a grown up buy them something for that hobby they’ve always wanted.
But don’t worry - what you give your kids for Christmas or what you get won’t necessarily shape theirs or your life.
Toy guns were still a thing in the 1980s but I didn’t become an assassin. I also got a football kit and ball but never quite made it as a pro.
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