All 18 John Lewis Christmas adverts since 2007 ranked from worst to best

John Lewis have given us some cracking Christmas ads over the past 18 years (Picture: John Lewis)

In recent years the John Lewis Christmas advert has become as much a part of the festive season as tinsel, turkey and Santa.

Last year, the retail giants gave us a change of pace with their festive effort – starring a cute but destructive Venus flytrap called Snapper, a young boy who befriends the plant, and an unexpectedly upbeat soundtrack from iconic singer Andrea Bocelli.

And this year’s festive film has now landed, offering up a clip full of nostalgia and not too much product placement, with The Gifting Hour showing one sister’s hunt back through time for the perfect present for her sibling.

It’s bemusing and heart-warming in equal measure – but just how will it measure up to the retail giant’s previous festive efforts?

Let’s take a look back at the John Lewis Christmas ads which have charmed us over the past decade and a half, and ask the question – which of them is the best of all?

It’s time to get nostalgic…

18. Shadows (2007)

This is where it all began, and it’s definitely not one to write home about. The advert sees a shadow of a woman and her dog created by a variety of products, with a light being placed down first, giving us major Pixar vibes.

It was the first advert from the retailer in three years and you would have thought it would have been a little bit more creative, right? Alas, it wasn’t.

17. Clues (2008)

Like other early efforts, the 2008 ad predated John Lewis’ fondness for telling us a festive story, and instead consisted of a bunch of people sitting in silence before showing us what Christmas presents they were clearly thinking about in their quiet contemplation.

With a slowed down piano version of The Beatles’ From Me To You giving us an indication of what was to come in John Lewis ad soundtrack terms, this is pleasant but not terribly exciting – which is why many of us may even have forgotten they even released a festive ad in 2008.

16. The Feeling (2009)

The first John Lewis ad to be produced by the Adam & Eve/DBB agency (who have produced them ever since), it shows a bunch of excited kids unwrapping ‘grown-up’ Christmas gifts – laptops, Kindles and the like – with the tagline ‘Remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling.’

Cute? For sure, and it does bring back fond memories of being a youngster and getting those gifts on Christmas morning. Aside from that though, it’s not terribly memorable.

15. A Tribute To Givers (2010)

The first John Lewis Christmas ad to use the Elton John classic Your Song – albeit covered here by Ellie Goulding – features a bunch of people going to extreme lengths to hide Christmas gifts from their friends and loved ones before the big day.

Not one which stuck in our heads for long, but nabs extra points for the ending, as a young boy hangs a brim-full Christmas stocking outside his pet dog’s kennel (at which point our hearts collectively burst).

14. The Gifting Hour (2024)

This year’s Christmas ad hasn’t reached a high spot on our list, but it’s nonetheless a heartwarming tale of a sister on the hunt for a gift for her sibling.

Along the way, she reunites with her sister throughout the ages: as a sweet child, the dreaded teenager, and excited parent-to-be.

The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft is behind the song, though John Lewis is giving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for aspiring musicians to sing their famous cover song.

13. Unexpected Guest (2021)

2021’s John Lewis advert featured an intergalactic friendship between space traveller Skye and teenage boy Nathan, who teaches her about Christmas in her brief trip to Earth.

Set to a decidedly downbeat version of the 80s classic Together In Electric Dreams performed by Lola Young, it should be out of this world but instead just feels a bit ordinary, the sort of thing we’ve seen many times before. Still, props to Skye for giving us a giggle by trying to eat a mince pie with the foil still on it.

12. Moz The Monster (2017)

Directed by Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind’s Michel Gondry, 2017’s effort – soundtracked to Elbow’s cover of Golden Slumbers – told the story of Moz The Monster and the little boy he befriended, with their late night antics affecting his sleep – until he bought him a night light as a Christmas gift.

Sadly it wasn’t one of their finer efforts, leaving us with too many questions. Why as the monster there in the first place? Where did he go? Why is he keeping this kid up all night?

The pressure was on to rustle up something spectacular for 2017 and they didn’t rise to the challenge.

11. Snapper The Venus Flytrap

The retail giants go for a surprising change of pace with their 2023 campaign, which starts off typically enough as a young boy buys a Christmas tree growing kit at a market – only for a venus flytrap to grow instead of a lovely pine.

With a story which owes a debt to 80s movie classic Little Shop Of Horrors, and iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performing a rousing original song on the soundtrack, this is as cute and celebratory as ever, but still quite the departure from your average John Lewis festive ad.

All of which makes it a bit divisive – those who have had their fill of cute cartoon hares, trampolining dogs and winsome ballads will probably love it. If, on the other hand, those are the very things you want from your annual John Lewis Christmas ad – then this might be a bit much.

10. The Journey (2012)

Another heartstring-tugger, this time set to Gabrielle Aplin’s cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s The Power Of Love, and telling the story of a snowman who makes a treacherous journey across mountains and busy roads to deliver his Christmas gift of a hat, scarf and gloves to his ‘snow-girlfriend’.

You’ll need a whole box of tissues to make it through this one – but as sweet and touching as it might be the whole thing feels a little bit forgettable when compared to some of the ads we’ve had since.

9. The Beginner (2022)

2022s ad, in conjunction with John Lewis’ Building Better Futures programme aimed at supporting care experienced children, tells the sweet and touching story of a man (The Reckoning’s John Paul Hurley) who tries valiantly to master the art of skateboard in order to bond with his new foster child.

This one feels different in tone to previous John Lewis Christmas ads – it features quite a bit of dialogue, for example, which lends our skateboarding dad some character and warmth – while the soundtrack, a cover of Blink 182’s All The Small Things as performed by Mike Geier (aka Puddles Pity Party) is an inspired choice.

An understated effort which may not be remembered past Christmas but gets its point across well, while delivering the requisite emotional punch.

8. Give A Little Love (2020)

The world might have shut down in the wake of the pandemic in 2020 but that didn’t stop us from getting the John Lewis Christmas advert as usual.

This one, in conjunction with charities FareShare and and Home-Start, is largely animated and follows a trail of acts of kindness, set to Celeste singing the original song Give A Little Love.

It might lack the story element of some of the others, but the message of kindness comes across loud and clear – and we can’t fault it for that.

7. The Bear And The Hare (2013)

Lily Allen covered Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know for this animated effort in 2013, with the titular bear and hare shown as best friends walking together until the wintry weather forces the former into hibernation.

The hare’s left alone for Christmas, until he hits upon the idea of buying the bear an alarm clock as a gift – meaning he wakes up and is able to enjoy the festivities. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve definitely got something in our eye.

6. The Boy And The Piano (2018)

Who can have forgotten 2018’s awesome effort from John Lewis, starring Sir Elton himself and causing them to change their West End store name to simply ‘John’ during the run-up to the festive season.

With Elton singing Your Song through the decades, working backwards through his career to the moment his mum bought him a piano for Christmas when he was just a nipper, it had some people criticising it for ‘not being about Christmas’ – but we still think it’s one of their best.

5. Excitable Edgar (2019)

John Lewis were completely on form when they dropped Excitable Edgar on to our screens in 2019, telling the story of the oh-so-adorable dragon who gets over-excited by Christmas, only to ruin it by breathing fire over everything. Until a young girl he is friends with gives him a gift which allows him to put his skills to good use.

This one has everything – laughs, heartstring-pulling moments and a thoroughly satisfying triumph over adversity story attached – all wrapped up in Dan Smith from Bastille’s cover of REO Speedwagon’s Can’t Fight This Feeling. Seriously, what is not to like?

4. Monty The Penguin (2014)

After making us all weep rivers in 2013, 2014’s ad was a more light-hearted offering about a boy whose best friend is a penguin called Monty (a stuffed toy which he imagines to be real).

Cue happiness when he gets a female penguin under the Christmas tree to keep Monty company – with the whole thing soundtracked to Tom Odell’s cover of John Lennon’s Real Love. A very popular, very inventive ad from John Lewis , and who didn’t want to snap up one of those plush Monty penguins at the time?

3. The Man On The Moon (2015)

John Lewis’ most tearjerking effort yet came in 2015, as a lonely old man sat by himself on the moon receives an unexpected gift from a young girl who’s spotted him back on earth.

The campaign, launched with charity Age UK, made us all emotional wrecks before picking up the phone to our grandparents, but it did beg the question as to why on earth the old man had been extradited to the moon in the first place.

Yes, we know that’s not the point.

2. Buster The Boxer (2016)

John Lewis’ first attempt at a comedy advert came in 2016 – and we loved them for it, offering a clip which managed to make us all misty-eyed while raising a few chuckles at the same time.

2016 was the year when the country fell in love with Buster The Boxer – who just couldn’t resist a play on the new trampoline his owner just got for Christmas. The soundtrack was Vaults’ cover of One Day I’ll Fly Away and the reception to the ad was strong – in fact even dogs loved it.

1. The Long Wait (2011)

The first year in which John Lewis’s festive ad told an actual story, guaranteed to melt even the hardest heart into a puddle.

This one sees a young boy growing increasingly impatient for Christmas to come – not so that he can get his own gifts, but in order to surprise his parents on Christmas morning with the one he’s bought them. All set to a cover of The Smiths’ Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want by Slow Moving Millie.

We’re not crying, you are. Because this is so perfect in its simplicity and depiction of a child’s excitement over the festive season that it gets to us every single time.

We’ve told you our view, now the question is – which of these ads is the best in your eyes?

Cast your vote below and if you disagree with us, feel free to leave us a comment too (go on, we dare you…).

This article was originally published on November 9, 2023.

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