Are you over the shock that I was utterly fawning over the John Lewis Christmas spot yesterday?
Well maybe I’m getting into the festive spirit – or maybe I’m ill – but I’m going to give it another dollop of praise.
OK, so this has nothing to do with the ad, but when I checked out the spot on Youtube, I saw a bunch of links to other John Lewis ‘films’ … except instead of more emotion inducing ads, they were little clips giving useful tips to many of the issues people face at Christmas.
Whether it’s how to wrap presents to errrrm, how to groom a beard, John Lewis want to be there to help you make everything ‘perfect’.
That said, I couldn’t find any tips on how to get over a hangover, stop granny from making racist comments or apologise for telling your boss they were an unmitigated prick at the office Christmas party … but maybe they’re still filming those.
In an industry that likes to celebrate the brands that do the big, statement-making spots … these little films remind us that it’s often the little things that make the biggest difference.
It would have been oh-so-easy for John Lewis to say, “but you can find those tips on line without us having to do it” … but they didn’t, probably because they know that to truly connect to people, it’s about demonstrating you care, rather than just saying it.